Forgiven
by Aslan's Author
Summary: Susan has forgotten all about Narnia,now she is thrown into a quest to stop the demon Tash from covering the world in eternal darkness. However she is not alone as William is sent back to help Susan fight her greastest challenge yet and help her to rediscover who she is. conclusion to the Susan & William Trilogy. Post Last Battle R
1. The Loss of Loved Ones

Chapter One

The Loss of Loved Ones

_1949_

The city of London was always busy, the cars and trucks and buses were driving along the busy roads, the boats sailing down the river Thames. Everywhere you looked busy Londoners walked the streets, pushing past each other and going about their own business.

It was the same in the small borough of Finchley in North London, here people chatted happily and walked up and down the high street looking at what foods the market stores were selling and what clothes were up for sale. If you looked carefully you could still see some of the damage that remained from the terrible bombs that had dropped during the war that had ended four years previously.

On a normal London street there lived a married couple called John and Helen Pevensie, they lived with their four children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. To their parents and everyone else these children were just normal children, however these four children were the former Kings and Queens of a magical world called Narnia.

So on a cold October morning, it seemed to just be a normal morning within the Pevensie household. Edmund was in the kitchen making himself some breakfast and a pot of tea when Peter walked into the kitchen. Peter and Edmund were both dressed as workmen wearing blue overalls which were covered in dirt.

"Morning Ed" Peter said as he entered

"Morning, do want a cup of tea"? Edmund asked in reply

Peter just nodded and proceeded to open up the newspaper and began reading, Edmund started to eat his breakfast and Peter drank his tea; the two of them just sat there in silence for a few minuets thinking about what was going to happen today.

"Do you think Lucy and the others managed to get the train alright"? Edmund asked

"I hope so, they should have left about ten minuets ago" Peter answered looking at his watch.

Just then a beautiful young woman entered the kitchen, she had long flowing raven black hair, her skin was beautifully white, her lips were bright red; but the thing that stood out most were her lovely ocean blue eyes. This beautiful woman was twenty one year old Susan Pevensie.

"Morning" Susan said smiling at her two brothers

Peter and Edmund both mumbled replies but did not smile at her or even look at her. Susan noticing that her brothers were still angry with her decided to ignore them and started to make herself a cup of tea.

"What time did you get in last night"? Peter asked her

Susan looked around and saw that Peter and Edmund were looking at her in a disappointed way, she became defensive looking at their faces they kept trying to make her feel bad for not believing a stupid game they used to play when they were kids.

"Late, why"? Susan demanded glaring at her brothers

"And who were you with"? Edmund asked through gritted teeth

"I was with Daniel if you must know" Susan replied turning around to pour the tea into her cup.

"Where did you go"?

Susan slammed the tea spoon she was using to stir with down hard, she turned around to face her brothers once again this time with a look of fury on her face. Peter and Edmund both flinched a little at her fury as they knew that Susan was not a person to make angry.

"We went dancing and why am being treated like I am in a police station"? Asked Susan

Edmund and Peter both shared understanding looks it was time to let their thoughts out into the open. They both stood up and looked straight at Susan, the stance they took showed that standing down was not an option and the two Narnian kings and warriors showed themselves.

"Susan we want you to stop going out all the time, we love you but it pains us to see you going around flirting with all these different boys and drinking with all your friends" Peter said breathing a sigh of relief for getting it off his chest.

"Peter I am twenty one years old, I am allowed to go out with whatever boy I want and drink as much as I want" Susan argued

Edmund opened his mouth to speak but Peter held up his hand for him to remain silent, Peter then just shook his head and looked at his watch. He nodded his head at Edmund who understood that it was time to leave; they both finished their tea and walked into the hall. Susan however wasn't finished with them yet and followed them.

"Where are you two going"? Susan asked looking at their appearance

"We've got some business to take care of" Edmund replied coolly

"And what business is that"? Susan coolly asked back

"If you must know Susan its Narnia business, but I know that you don't believe in it anymore" Edmund answered coldly

Susan glared at both her brothers; she had had enough of her siblings go on about a land they invented when they were children. For Susan it was nothing but a game they made up to help them cope with the stress of being evacuated because of the bombs from the German planes, but to her siblings it was a land they actually visited and had actually became the rulers of.

"What exactly are you two planning on doing"?

So Peter and Edmund explained about their plan, they explained how a spectre of a Narnian king had contacted them for help and how they planned on getting the magic rings from Professor Diggory Kirke's old house and giving them to their cousin Eustace Scrubb and his friend Jill Pole.

"So you two are now breaking the law over a stupid children's game" Susan said quietly her lip quivering from anger.

"It wasn't a game Su and were not breaking the law" Edmund protested

"Edmund you two are planning to trespass on somebody else's property, which is breaking the law"

Edmund glared at his sister, he then looked at Peter who had remained mostly quiet throughout this whole argument. Peter was just staring at Susan like he was in some kind of trance before finally speaking.

"Susan sometimes you have to do what you think is right even if it means breaking the law, if we get caught we'll pay the price for it but at the moment all that matters is that we help Narnia" Peter said quietly

"Narnia was a game"! Susan exploded looking at her brothers with disbelief

"Narnia is real Susan and I'll tell you this if you truly believe the love you and William shared wasn't real then I'm afraid that your soul will never find it's way into Aslan's Country" Peter replied his stare as hard as stone.

Peter then motioned Edmund to follow him as he opened the door and stepped out onto the street. Once the door had closed Susan stood there attempting to calm her breathing, eventually she went back into the kitchen and attempted to think about the night out that was happening tonight.

* * *

Later that evening Susan was ready in the sitting room wearing a lovely red dress, her hair was down by her shoulders wavy and shiny. She was looking in the mirror putting on some lipstick when the doorbell sounded around the house, she sighed thinking how early Daniel was. She finished putting on the lipstick while the doorbell rang three more times.

"Coming" she called.

Susan put her lipstick down and danced towards the door, all she was thinking about was her and Daniel showing everybody down at the dance club how it was done. She opened the front door and instead of Daniel there stood a Police Constable.

"Susan Pevensie"? He asked

"Yes, can I help you" she replied confused at why a policeman was at the door.

"I have some news for you, do you mind if I come in"?

"Not at all"

Susan moved over to allow the constable to enter; once he passed she went to shut the door and noticed a man standing across the street. He was dressed in a long black coat and his face was covered by the black hat he was wearing.

"Miss Pevensie is everything alright"? The constable asked still standing the hallway

"Yes everything's fine" Susan said looking at him, she then turned back to the man across the street and saw that he had disappeared. She continued to stare for a few more seconds before remembering the constable and closing the door.

She led the constable into the sitting room; she offered him a seat on the sofa which he accepted. Susan sat herself in her father's armchair and waited for the constable to speak.

"Miss Pevensie, I am sorry to inform you but there was a train crash today" The constable began.

"What has a train crash got to do with me"? Susan asked

"I'm sorry to tell you that your brothers Peter Pevensie and Edmund Pevensie were killed in the crash" The constable said gently

Susan felt like somebody had punched the life out of her, she felt like she couldn't breath, her legs felt weak if she wasn't sitting down she thought she would have collapsed.

"You've made a mistake, this can't be true" Susan said her voice trembling

"I'm sorry miss it is true, I'm also sorry to inform you that your sister Lucy was also killed in the crash along with your parents and your cousin Eustace Scrubb. Also a Professor Digory Kirke, Miss Polly Plummer and Miss Jill Pole were also killed"

Susan broke down in tears and started screaming, she couldn't believe it her whole family couldn't be gone. The constable attempted to comfort her by moving over to her and putting his arm around her, Unfourntlaley he was met with Susan screaming at him to get out. He didn't argue, he just apologised once more and then left Susan alone in the house to cry out her grief.

* * *

Susan was standing in the sitting room looking in the mirror; she was dressed in a black dress that used to belong to her mother. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying Susan had been doing and had bags underneath them due to lack of sleep.

She was then picked up by her aunt and uncle; few words were spoken between them as everyone was in mourning. When they arrived at the cemetery they found a few people already there waiting for them. Susan spoke to many people but she felt like a ghost her whole family was gone and now she felt incomplete without them. The Priest silenced everyone in attendance and started to speak.

"We are here today to lay to rest the nine people who lost their lives in that terrible tragedy, John and Helen Pevensie will be missed as they were always willing to help their community and were so dedicated to helping people in need during the war. We also miss their three children Peter, Edmund and Lucy; these children were lovely children and were always there to help others in need just like their parents"

Susan wasn't paying attention to the words the priest spoke; she just stood their staring at the graves of her family and friends. She felt guilty for the last words she ever spoke to her brothers were words of anger over the world they so loyally believed in.

Susan looked towards her aunt and uncle who were standing beside her and saw tears in their eyes as they laid their young and only son to rest. Nobody there deserved to die, Susan couldn't help thinking what had she done to deserve this, fresh tears fell from her eyes as all the memories of her family floated through her mind.

After the priest had finished and everybody turned to leave, Susan remained standing by graves as the diggers piled dirt among each of the coffins now resting inside them. Her aunt and uncle were waiting for her by the car, respecting her need to say her own goodbye to her family.

Susan looked around the cemetery at all the other graves which filled it. That's when she noticed a man standing on the other side of the cemetery watching her, he wore a black coat and his face was covered by a black hat. Susan remembered that man standing across the street when the constable told her about her family, she started to walk towards him frightened and curious at who he was. However her aunt called her from beside the car, Susan turned to look at her then turned back to find that the man had once again disappeared.

Susan slowly allowed herself to turn away and start walking back to the car. All the time she tried to figure out how she could live her life without her parents or her siblings by her side, she felt like she was still being watched she turned around but saw nobody there. She still couldn't help feeling that a familiar presence was in the cemetery she just couldn't think where she had felt it before. Ignoring the feeling she slowly walked back to the car where her aunt and uncle were still waiting and slowly walked to a life where she was forced to be alone.


	2. Grief and Murder

Chapter Two

Grief and Murder

_1952_

Everybody slowly entered the church on that cold Sunday morning, people called greetings to each other as they all hunted for a seat. The talking intensified when everybody was seated until finally the priest arrived at the front and gestured everybody to be quiet.

"Thank you, I am Father McGuiness and although I am new here I feel that this community will be a good place to start my very own parish" The priest announced

Everybody in the church nodded and applauded except for one man at the back, this man was another priest who looked angry about something as he watched this young new priest as he gave his sermon.

After the Father McGuiness had finished he wished everybody a safe journey home before stepping down from the pedestal at the front and walking towards his office at the back of the church. The other priest who on closer inspection looked in his fifties followed the young priest.

Father McGuiness hung up his white robes he had been wearing, he then turned around to sit at his desk and saw another priest standing in the doorway. He recognised him as the same priest who was at the back of the church for his sermon and remembered that he had been glaring at him all the way through it.

"Can I help you"? Father McGuiness asked

"Yes you can, I am Father Dyer"

"And how can I help you Father Dyer"?

Father Dyer walked into the room and stood on the other side of the desk, all the while he kept glaring at him and would not break eye contact. Father McGuiness refused to back down from the stares of the older priest.

"Do you know where Father Manning is"? Asked Father Dyer

"I'm afraid I don't know who that is" Replied Father McGuiness

Father Dyer slammed his fists down on the table, his face showed nothing but pure rage. He stormed around the other side of the desk and grabbed Father McGuiness by the robes and hoisted him out of his chair.

"He was the priest of this parish, he used to sit in this officer until he went missing about a month ago and suddenly you turn up to replace him" Father Dyer roared

"Are you saying I had something to do with his disappearance"? Asked Father McGuiness

"Yes I am, so tell me what happened"?

At that moment a short chubby man entered the office, he looked about in his forties and had brown hair which was thinning showing that he was going bald.

"Who are you"? Father Dyer demanded

The small man just smiled at the scene towards him, Father Dyer was confused at this however Father McGuiness was smiling as well. There was only a flash of silver as Father McGuiness pulled a dagger out of nowhere and stuck straight into the throat of Father Dyer.

"Poor Father Dyer" said Father McGuiness as the older priest grabbed his throat in an effort to stop the blood which was flowing through his fingers. "Oh and the answer to your questions about Father Manning is that I simply killed him"

Father Dyer's eyes grew wide he stumbled back then landed on his knees, he glared at McGuiness once more before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell on his back dead.

"Get rid of the body" ordered Father McGuiness cleaning the blood off the dagger with a handkerchief

"Yes sir" squeaked the small man and with a lot of effort he managed to drag Father Dyer's body out of the officer and closed the door behind him.

Father McGuiness sat back down behind his desk and thought about the mission his master has set for him to complete. He sat in his office way into the night trying to find the locations of all of those items he had to find.

* * *

The house was silent except for the sound of a clock in the sitting room. There was nobody in the house except a young woman sitting on the sofa her head buried in her hands. Three years had passed since the train crash which had killed the Pevensie family except the eldest daughter Susan.

Susan remained sitting in silence on the sofa, she managed to raise her head out of her hands and look at the different photos on the wall showing her and her family together and happy. Susan's eyes started to produce fresh tears as she looked at the happy faces of her family, all of them were oblivious to shocking and terrible death which would happen to them.

Suddenly there was a knock at the front door; Susan ignored it at first hoping the person would go away. However the person at the door would not go away as they kept knocking and knocking, eventually Susan dragged herself to the door and wrenched open.

"Susan where have you been, I've been knocking for ages"? Said Catherine

Susan sighed Catherine was probably Susan's best friend she was the only person she spoke to these days. Susan ignored her question but just walked back into the sitting room; Catherine shut the door and followed her.

"Now Susan how have you been"? Catherine asked taking a seat on the sofa

"Fine" muttered Susan

Catherine didn't look convinced at Susan's reply; everyone knew that Susan hadn't been the same since the death of her family. The only family she had left were her aunt and uncle but they lived in Cambridge and rarely came to London.

"Susan I'm here today because I'm moving to America" Catherine said rather hurriedly

However Susan acted like she didn't hear her, she was thinking about when her parents took her to America all those years ago. It seemed like a different life back then for her, she was happy and lived without a care in the world.

"America, so you're leaving England for good then"? Asked Susan

"Yes I'm afraid so, I leave in a couple of days so I came round to say goodbye" Catherine said cheerfully

Susan sat on the sofa not smiling just imagining how without Catherine she would not talk to anyone else. Catherine was looking at Susan concerned she needed to tell Susan something, she knew she it wouldn't be easy but it had to be done.

"Susan with me gone, please I need you to try and start living again" Catherine pleaded

"What do you mean"? Susan asked her stare as cold as ice.

"Well for the last three years you haven't been out with anyone, you quit your job, you broke up with Daniel and your aunt and uncle pay all your bills for you" Catherine informed

Susan stood up to her height, why did nobody understand they all expect her to get over her the loss of her family in a matter of months, even though she knew she could never get over it.

"How dare you, you think it's easy to get over not the death of one family member but several. You think I can go back to acting normal again do you well I can't and I'm sorry if you don't like it but that is something I just can't do"

Catherine was cowering on the sofa; Susan's fury had petrified her. Susan was breathing heavily she hadn't felt this angry in a long time.

"Susan please I didn't mean that" Catherine begged

"You know what Catherine get out, I want you out of my house" Susan yelled

Catherine didn't hesitate she bolted towards the door, as she fumbled with the door handle Susan entered the hallway an ice cold glare still upon her face. Catherine finally managed to open the door and walked off hurriedly down the street.

"Good Luck in America" Susan yelled down the street after her

She went to close the door when she stopped dead, there across the street stood the familiar man in the long black coat and hat. Susan had not seen him in three years, not since the day of her family's funeral.

The man just stood their watching her; she could not see his face as it was covered by the black hat as always. She continued to stare at him, she didn't know what it was but she had a feeling that she knew him from somewhere.

Suddenly a truck came down the street it passed in front of the man temporarily hiding him from view. However when the truck had passed Susan saw that once again the man had vanished into thin air, Susan looked up and down the street but there was no sign of the man.

Susan continued to stand in the doorway looking around for a few more minutes before finally accepting that man had gone. She slowly closed the door and went into the kitchen and started to fix something up for dinner.


	3. The Lion

Chapter Three

The Lion

The air was cold that morning; hardly anyone walked the streets of Finchley, those who were brave enough to fight the weather were not fighting it for very long as everyone hurried to find the sanctuary of warmth which existed in their homes. However one person did brave the weather for longer than anyone else that day, a beautiful young woman sat in the church cemetery with tears in her eyes.

"I miss you" Susan whispered wiping the tears out of her eyes as she looked at the graves of her family.

Susan's life without her family was empty, she had nobody except her aunt and uncle but they had grieving of their own to do as their only son had also perished in the crash. Susan stayed there on her knees for most of the morning, thinking of all the memories she had with her family.

As Susan sat there in front of her family's graves she started having the feeling that she was being watched. She looked around the cemetery but there was nobody there, even the man in the black hat who mysteriously seemed to appear and disappear into thin air was absent this time. However as she continued to look around the cemetery she thought she could sense a presence watching her, a presence she knew from somewhere but she couldn't remember where from.

Eventually she gave up thinking about the presence she was feeling, she placed fresh flowers on each member of her family's graves and slowly began the walk back to her house and her lonely life which awaited her. As she started to walk down the street it started to rain heavily, she ignored the rain as she felt nothing could make her feel any worse; people who were on the streets busied passed her tightening their coats and rushing to find shelter from the rain pouring down.

As she walked more memories of her family entered her mind which resulted in fresh tears falling from her eyes. Susan finally decided to take a shortcut home through the zoo; all the animals she passed were lying in their cages trying to keep as dry as possible. However there was one animal in that zoo that did not try and shelter itself from the rain and that was a male lion.

Susan noticed that the lion was watching her make her way through the zoo, the amber eyes of the beast made her stop. Susan felt like she knew this lion, she didn't know how she could know a lion but somewhere inside her she felt like she remembered his presence.

"Hello" she said walking up to the lion

She felt rather silly talking to a lion as she knew he couldn't speak back, but there was something different about this lion as most of them would roar and become defensive when somebody approaches them, however this one remained calm and silent his eyes fixed on Susan.

"So you don't mind the rain then"? Susan asked noticing again how he was the only animal in the zoo not trying to take cover.

The lion just continued to stare at her, Susan had the weird feeling that the lion could understand her and was actually listening to her. As she looked into its eyes she felt like she could tell the lion anything he seemed trustworthy.

"Oh for goodness sake I'm talking to a lion" Susan suddenly burst out causing the lion to stare at her even more like she was some kind of puzzle.

She just shook her head and walked away through the pouring rain, as she reached the exit of the zoo she turned back at lion who was still watching her. She started to feel uncomfortable she had never heard of a lion behaving in such an odd manner, finally she turned away from the lion and continued on with her journey home.

* * *

As Susan left the zoo the lion kept on staring at her until she was entirely out of view, the lion however continued to stare at the place where she had disappeared from his sight. Soon though the lion's attention was brought back as another person had approached the cage of the lion, this person was male; he wore a long thick black coat and a black hat which covered his face.

Like the lion before him the man stared at the place where Susan had disappeared from his view. The man then looked at the lion and slipped his hand through the bars and placed it into the lions mane, if anyone had saw this it would of looked mad and stupid but the lion did not attack the hand he allowed it to touch his mane and seemed to enjoy the contact he was receiving.

The lion then looked into the man's face underneath the hat and a look of understanding formed between them. The man just sighed and continued running his hand through the lion's mane.

"I know, she's forgotten" the man said to the lion.

* * *

The office was dark; the only source of light was one candle flickering on the desk. Father McGuiness was sat behind his desk hunched over pieces of parchment reading them and occasionally crossing out with the quill he was holding.

_Knock Knock_

"Enter"

The door to the office opened and in came the short chubby man, he stood by the door nervously before finally being brave enough to move nearer to the desk where Father McGuiness sat and had not yet looked up.

"M-my Lo-rd" the man stuttered

"What"? Father McGuiness demanded

The man cowered a little at the anger in Father McGuiness voice. When the man was silent for a little while longer Father McGuiness looked up from the pieces of parchment and looked at the small man with a cold icy stare.

"What is it you want Quigley"? Father McGuiness yelled

"My Lord we found her" squeaked Quigley

Father McGuiness sat back in his chair and gave a small smile. Finally after weeks of searching they had done it, they had located her. Father McGuiness looked at Quigley standing before him and smiled even more.

"You have done well Quigley; now bring her to me alive" Father McGuiness ordered

"Yes my lord" Quigley said quickly before leaving the room in a hurry

Father McGuiness was left alone once again; he continued to smile at the knowledge of finally locating the person he was looking for. Father McGuiness then stood up and marched around to the front of his desk; he kneeled on the carpet and looked at the wall where a weird red mark had been drawn on to it.

"We have found her my master, we have found Susan the Gentle" he said to the mark

Suddenly a cold chill swept into the room, Father McGuiness showed no sign that the temperature had dropped. A cold high voice then seemed to talk as if the wall itself was generating it.

"Good, when you bring her to me I will kill her and then nobody will be able to stop us"

The voice then erupted into a high cold laugh, Father McGuiness joined in. Finally the cold chill left the room and Father McGuiness was left alone in the silent barley lit room once again.


	4. Intruders

Chapter Four

Intruders

The rain continued for the rest of the day, Susan finally sheltered herself in her house and set about preparing something for dinner. After looking through the different cupboards in the kitchen Susan finally decided to have something small and started to make some soup, however as she started to prepare her meal there was a knock at the door. Susan wondering who would be brave and stupid enough to wait outside in weather like this slowly wondered to the door and slowly opened it.

When Susan finally opened the front door she found that nobody was there, she quickly had a glance up and down the street but couldn't see anymore. But as she went to close the door she spotted a group of soldiers standing in the entrance to an alleyway across the street.

She could tell they were soldiers by the uniforms they were wearing, but she didn't understand why they were standing in an alleyway in the middle of Finchley in freezing rain. One by one the soldiers caught Susan looking at them; they just stared at her for a minute then slowly ventured down the alleyway and out of view.

Susan was a little confused at their behaviour but decided to forget it when she shivered from the cold weather and rain which was attacking the outside. Susan closed the door and returned to making her soup, which she ate quickly once she had made it. After she had finished eating she washed up her bowl and spoon and moved into the sitting room where she lit a fire and settled down in her father's old armchair and opened a book.

The book Susan had chosen turned out to be a romance novel which probably belonged to her mother; she attempted to read for about an hour before giving up. She hated romance novels because they were nothing like real life, in real life there was never any heroic man who would fight everyone just to save the one person he loved she knew you rarely found men like that. She also disliked the way women were portrayed in those novels as they were always damsels in distress waiting for that one man to come and rescue them.

After putting the book down Susan wandered upstairs and looked into her brother's old room, it had been left exactly the way they left it. Their clothes still in the wardrobes and some on the floor, the beds still unmade as though they only just left but Susan knew her brothers were not coming back same as her sister and her parents they were gone forever. She went to her parent's bedroom where she had been sleeping for the past three years, it was odd sleeping in the room that used to be her parents but it seemed like it carried their presence within it.

Susan undressed and put on a white nightie; she slid underneath the covers and attempted to fall into the beautiful world of sleep. However as she slowly closed her eyes she suddenly heard a loud bang from downstairs, she got of bed and opened the bedroom door quietly to see if she could hear anymore noises from downstairs. She heard the back door banging shut from the kitchen and immediately Susan thought there was somebody in the house.

She crept from the bedroom as quietly as she could and reached around the door to her brother's room and grabbed Edmund's old cricket bat. She then slowly moved down the stairs one at a time, she strained her ears for anymore sounds but all she could hear was the back door banging shut.

Susan entered the kitchen with the cricket bat held high ready to strike the intruder, but there was nobody there the back door was open and was being blown open and then closed again by the ferocious wind outside. Susan sighed at the back door and slowly put the cricket bat down; she still thought it was strange for the back door to be open as she was sure she had locked it before she went to bed.

"Susan you idiot, your forgetting everything now" she muttered to herself

She locked the back door and made sure it was probably locked and then made her way back up to her bedroom. She thought she heard something in the sitting room as she passed but after she stopped and listened for another sound she heard nothing and continued on upstairs.

Susan put the cricket bat back in her brother's room and went back into her room. She turned the light on in her room and quickly looked out the window to see if she could see anyone out there but she saw nobody as it was still raining heavily outside.

She went to close the curtains however when she did she saw in the window a reflection of a man standing behind her. Her look of shock showed she had seen him and he grabbed her with rough hands and threw her to the floor.

Susan managed to look up and saw that the man was one of those soldiers from earlier, she crawled to her dresser and tried to pull herself up but the soldier stopped this attempt by kicking her in the ribs hard. Susan again collapsed to the floor coughing and holding her ribs.

As Susan rolled around on the floor she noticed that a golf club laid underneath the bed, she recognised it as her father's when he used to play golf with his friends at the club. The soldier aimed another kick at her which connected hard with Susan's stomach; she coughed again and rolled around as the man just laughed.

Susan managed to grab the golf club and with all her might she pulled it from underneath the bed and swung hard at the man's knee. It connected with his knee and he fell to the floor shouting in agony, Susan managed to get up and ran from the bedroom however as she opened the door she was met by another soldier in the doorway.

"Where do you think you're going"? He demanded

Susan tried to swing the golf club at him but he easily caught and tugged it from her grasp. He then broke the club over his knee and threw them into the hallway. He then turned back to Susan and smiled, he moved towards her and out of desperation Susan swung her fist at him but like the golf club he caught it easily and slapped her round the face causing her to hit the floor.

"Come on what else you got"? The man asked laughing

Susan managed to get back to her feet, however the soldier grabbed her again but she kneed him in the groin making him fall to the floor. She jumped over him and ran out into the hallway, however as she ran to the stairs she found another soldier blocking her way.

"Your going nowhere" he said smiling as she stopped dead, the other soldiers from the bedroom came limping out of the bedroom and Susan had to quickly make a decision. She ran at full speed and jumped into the soldier in front of her causing both of them to tumble down the stairs.

She managed to get up once they had landed and tried making her way to the back door but found another soldier standing in the kitchen; she turned back to the front door and saw the soldier that fell down the stairs trying to get up by using the front door to pull himself onto his feet.

Susan ran into the sitting room and was followed by two more soldiers, she picked up a glass ornament from the mantelpiece and smashed it on one of the soldier's head however the other one grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her into the bookcase causing many of the books to fall on her and the bookcase to wobble.

The soldier grabbed her by the throat and lifted her roughly back to her feet, he then had a tight grip on her arm and dragged her back into the hallway.

"I've got her let's go" He shouted to the other soldiers in the house.

The other soldiers all managed to make their way towards them; some now had injuries after Susan managed to fight some of them. The one who she hit with the glass ornament suddenly came up from behind grabbed her by the shoulder spun her around and smacked her in the face.

"Enough, he wants her alive" The lead soldier shouted

"I'm not killing her am I, just getting some payback" the other one argued

Susan was on the floor, she spat the blood out of her mouth onto the floor. She was then pulled back to her feet and started being dragged towards the front door; the soldier who was dragging her opened the door to reveal that it was still raining outside. Susan however tried one last break for freedom

She elbowed the soldier in the stomach causing him to let go of her, she then ran out of the house and into the street. She started screaming for help as the soldiers all gave chase, however nobody could hear her screams everybody in the street was in bed and the heavy pounding of the rain and the ferocity of the wind was stopping her voice from being heard by any of her neighbours.

She tried to outrun the soldiers but it was no use, the lead soldier was gaining on her quick. Susan dashed across the road but the soldier dived and tackled her by the legs, Susan went flying forward and smasher her head against the kerb. Susan could feel warm blood dripping from her head she tried crawling away but the other soldiers had caught up and were all laughing at her and stalking her like hungry predators.

Susan still kept trying to crawl; she would not give up without a fight. The soldier who held her legs kept pulling her back towards him, Susan carried on screaming for help but the wind and rain was still drowning out all other sounds. Susan made one last effort to crawl and her hand reached forward and came in contact with something leathery.

Susan looked forward and saw that her hand now rested on a black leather shoe, the other soldiers had stopped laughing and were silent. Susan slowly looked up from the shoe and saw the man in the black coat and black hat standing before her, however this time she was able to look into underneath the hat and saw emerald green eyes shining underneath it.

The man looked down at her and then looked at the soldiers in front of him; he stepped in front of Susan and just stood there in front of the soldiers like he was waiting for it. The soldiers looked at each other confused before one of them suddenly swung his fist towards the man who easily blocked it and then swung his own fist which connected with the soldier's face causing him to hit the floor.

Another soldier ran forward and swung his fist at the man, but he easily ducked it delivered a punch to the soldier's stomach and then hit him again in the face sending him to the floor. The man then removed his coat and his hat and stood in the rain wearing nothing but a shirt and trousers ready to fight.

The soldiers all lunged at the man, he hit the first one but he was then hit by the second causing him to stumble back. He then ducked a punch from the third and threw a punch to the man's ribs and then kneed him in the face, another soldier kicked the man in the stomach causing to fall to his knees the soldier aimed another kick at his head but the man grabbed his leg and dislocated his knee causing him to fall to the ground in agony.

There were only four more soldiers left and each one of them charged towards the man, but Susan saw that this man was an amazing fighter he ducked and blocked all of the soldier's moves and hit back with many ones of his own which left all of the soldiers on the floor groaning in pain.

Susan's vision started to blur as the cut on her head was really starting to hurt, blood continued to fall from the wound. The last thing Susan saw was the man slowly approach her and saw those emerald green eyes in front of her before finally falling into darkness.


	5. Unfamiliar Surroundings

Chapter Five

Unfamiliar Surroundings

The corridors were dark and damp; the only light was the torches that had been placed on the walls however it still did not generate enough light to penetrate the gloomy darkness. Quigley hated walking around these hallways, they were located underneath the church and they scared him to death. He slowly made his way through the labyrinth of corridors, what made them even worse was the knowledge of giving bad news to Father McGuiness.

He could tell he was getting closer as he could hear the sound of people talking. He finally turned the corner and entered a massive circular room; Father McGuiness was on his knees in the centre of the room alone and staring at the wall opposite where a red mark had been drawn onto it. On a closer inspection Quigley could see if was the same red mark as the one in Father McGuiness's office, slowly Quigley approached Father McGuiness but as he got nearer he was met with a sword being pointed at his neck.

"Quigley what do you want"? Father McGuiness demanded

Quigley did not answer he was too busy staring at the sword near his throat, this sword was different to any other sword that Quigley had ever seen before. This sword had a black blade along with a black hilt, there was silver writing on the blade but as Quigley tried to read it the blade was pushed more into his throat.

"I said what do you want"? Father McGuiness repeated through gritted teeth

"I'm sorry my lord but she's escaped" Quigley squeaked his eyes still focused on the black blade.

Father McGuiness had rage all over his face, he couldn't believe they had finally found her and she somehow managed to escape their clutches. He pushed the sword closer to Quigley's throat who squeaked when the tip the blade made a small cut in his throat causing a small drop of the blood to fall.

"How could she have escaped, I sent ten men to get her"? Father McGuiness asked in disbelief.

"She had help from someone my lord, we don't know who he is" Quigley answered panicking at the sight of his blood.

"We did he look like"? Father McGuiness questioned his sword still held at Quigley's throat

"They didn't get a good look at him my lord, all they know was that he had bright green eyes" Quigley squeaked in fear.

Father McGuiness opened his eyes wide in surprise; he slowly lowered the sword from Quigley's throat who gave a sigh of relief. Father McGuiness then slowly walked around in circles thinking.

"It can't be him he's supposed to be dead" Father McGuiness muttered to himself

"Erm who is supposed to be dead my lord"? Quigley asked nervously

Father McGuiness held up his hand to silence him and continued on walking in circles, after a few minuets he then stopped and started to laugh. He looked at Quigley who still stood there looking nervous.

"Finally I will have the chance to get my revenge against him" Father McGuiness laughed

"Who my lord"? Quigley asked trying to avoid eye contact

"The Phoenix" Father McGuiness replied smiling.

* * *

Susan drifted in and out of consciousness, when she opened her eyes a little she was met with emerald green eyes looking at her. However so darkness would take her again and she was met with pain as memories and images of her family drifted into her head, but those images were eventually pushed away as Susan started having dreams of a lion he kept saying something to her but Susan could not hear him.

However Susan's dreams soon changed, an image of people suffering in the world, the sky black no light being able to penetrate it and the thing that frightened Susan the most a horrible twisted creature standing on a mountain of bones laughing a high cold laugh that seemed to penetrate her soul.

Suddenly Susan opened her eyes to find that she was laying on something soft, she felt with her hands and found that she was lying on her back in a comfortable single bed. She raised her head a little bit and saw that she was in an unfamiliar room, she tried remembering what had happened but all she kept seeing was that horrible creature from her dream.

She raised a hand to her head and winced when it came in contact with the cut she got from hitting the kerb. Then last night all came back to her, the soldiers breaking into her house and attacking her, then her running into the street and the man in black who seemed to be following her had come and rescued her.

She looked around the room she was in and saw it carried the basics of a bed and a chest of drawers but there was also a small table next to the bed where a glass of water waited. Susan snatched the water off of the table and downed the glass in one.

"You're awake then" said a female voice

Susan turned to see a beautiful young woman standing in the doorway; she was about Susan's height with lovely long red hair which fell down her back. She had chocolate brown eyes and she gave off a weird feeling that made Susan stare at her in wonder.

"How are we feeling"? She asked walking to Susan and resting a hand on her forehead, Susan winced when her hand went over her cut but the woman just gave her an apologetic smile.

"Who are you"? Susan asked

"My name is Sophia and you are lucky to be here, if he hadn't had gotten to you in time who knows what would of happened" The woman said to herself more than Susan.

"Who were those soldiers that attacked me, why did they attack me"? Susan asked hurriedly

"I'm sorry Susan I'm not the person to tell you that" Sophia said with another apologetic smile.

"How do you know my name"?

Sophia gave a small frown at the question like she was trying to figure out the best way to answer it.

"Now that's a bit tricky to answer"

Susan eyes turned to the open door, she watched the woman known as Sophia and waited for the right moment. That moment came when Sophia accidentally knocked Susan's water glass off the table, as she bent down to pick it up Susan jumped off the bed and bolted out of the bedroom door.

"Susan come back" Sophia yelled

Susan didn't listen but ran out into a hallway which she guessed was the upstairs of a house; Susan looked for some stairs and saw some at the bottom of the hall. She ran towards the house and that's when she noticed she was wearing a white dressing gown for the first time, she didn't have time to question about it as Sophia ran out of the bedroom and chased after Susan.

Susan ran as fast as she could down the stairs, she spotted a front door and ran towards it. However the door turned out to be locked when Susan tried opening it, she ran into a kitchen and spotted a back door however that was locked as well. Sophia ran into the kitchen and stopped in front of Susan.

"Calm down Susan you're safe" Sophia pleaded her arms raised in surrender.

"Where am I, why have you brought to me to this place"? Susan demanded

"You are in my house Susan and your here so you can be safe" Sophia answered taking a step towards her.

"Get back"! Susan shouted grabbing a knife that was on the kitchen counter

"Susan put down the knife, your safe here" Sophia said calmly her arms still raised in surrender.

Susan moved closer towards Sophia the knife raised in defence, Susan told her to get back and Sophia did what she was told and allowed Susan to pass her. As soon as Susan was in the doorway to the kitchen she ran back into the hallway and tried looking for somewhere to go, she ran into a sitting room and ran into something hard. She dropped the knife on the floor and fell backwards.

However Susan did not hit the floor, instead she was caught by strong arms. She looked up and was met by amazing emerald green eyes and behind them a handsome man who gave her a warm smile.

"Your awake I see" the man laughed

The man sat her down on the sofa and took a seat in an armchair opposite her, there was a roaring fire which made the room glow as its light was reflected off the walls. Sophia slowly walked in and saw that the man had Susan under control.

"I'm sorry if we scared you Susan" The man said smiling at her

Susan couldn't stop staring at the man he was extremely handsome, his piercing emerald green eyes, his dark brown hair and his lovely warm smile. Susan's stomach started doing somersaults as she stared at him.

"Are you alright"? He asked staring at her concerned

"Yes, who are you"? Susan said defensively annoyed that she was blushing.

"Oh yes how rude of me, I am William Harkett"


	6. Questions

Chapter Six

Questions 

Susan looked at William, she thought she knew somebody called William but she couldn't remember. Sophia moved to sit next to Susan who felt bad for pointing the knife at her; Susan then looked back to William and saw that he looked older than he was as he stared at the fire he seemed to be worried about something. Susan decided to ignore it as she had more important questions to ask, William turned towards her and smiled at her like he knew she wanted to ask something.

"Who were those soldiers and why did they attack me"? Susan asked looking straight into William's amazing green eyes.

"Well first of all they were not real soldiers it was a disguise they were using and secondly Susan they attacked you because they believe you're the only one who can stop them" William said gently

"What do you mean I'm the only one that can stop them"?

"Susan what you've got to understand is that there are things that exist that some people of this world can not understand. These people are a cult who are dedicated to freeing the one they worship"

Susan was having difficulty understanding what was being said, a cult were trying to free the thing they worship and they believed she was the only one who could stop them. Susan put her head in her hands and sighed, Sophia who still sat next to her put her arm around her shoulders.

"Why do they think I'm the only one who could stop them"? Susan asked looking back at William

"Because you are the last surviving person to have been to Narnia"

Susan eyes widened, she looked from William to Sophia with her mouth wide open with shock. William understood the look on Susan's face and sighed as he knew she had truly forgotten Narnia just like she had forgotten him.

"Who are you people, how do you know about Narnia?"

"Because we have both been there"

"How could you it doesn't exist, it was a game that me and my siblings made up" Susan shouted

"How dare you, Narnia exists just as much as you and me" Sophia yelled back

Susan stood up shaking her head; she looked around the sitting room and stopped dead at what she saw. There on another armchair across the room was a black hat and a black coat that she recognised instantly as belonging to the man in black, Susan turned to look at William and it hit her.

"It was you, you were the man in black" Susan said pointing at him

"Yes it was me" William replied

"Why were you following me"? Susan demanded

"Because I had to keep an eye on you, those people want you dead"

Susan couldn't believe what was happening; all she knew was that she couldn't stay in that house a minute longer. She started heading towards the door but was stopped by William standing up from the armchair and standing in front of the door.

"Where do you think your going"? He asked

"I'm going home, what ever is going on with this cult it's your problem"

"This is everyone's problem don't you see they don't worship just anyone they worship Tash"! William shouted

As soon as William spoke the name a cold breeze swept through the house, it caused everyone to shake and brought with it an eerie silence. Susan didn't know what was going on she didn't know who Tash was all she cared about was going home.

"Look I don't care who this Tash person is, you can't keep me here people will be looking for me"

"Susan your family is dead, you no longer have a job, you broke up with your boyfriend, your neighbours never see you, your only friend has recently left for America and your bills are paid by your aunt and uncle; trust me when I say nobody will be looking for you"

Susan tried to argue but she couldn't, he had thought of everything she so badly wanted to go home but she realised that if that cult were trying to kill her then it was best to stay where nobody would find her.

"Okay I'll stay, but what do you want out of me"? Susan asked suspicious

"I want your help Susan, if the cult releases Tash it will the end of the world as we know it, darkness will engulf the world, creatures of evil will bring terror across the Earth and mankind itself will be on the verge of extinction" William explained sitting back down and staring into the fire.

"How am I supposed to help you, I mean how do you expect to stop them from releasing Tash"?

William then reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a tiny scroll which was wrapped in red ribbon, he passed it to Susan who carefully untied the ribbon; she noticed as she untied the ribbon that a gold lion was on it. Finally Susan unrolled the scroll and saw a few lines of writing had been written on, Susan began to read them.

_The Gentle and Phoenix will make a stand_

_Against the Creature that threatens the land_

_Five items they must recover_

_Will release one and also the other_

_Once all the items have been found_

_They must be taken to the Lion's ground_

_But for the items to work they need a token_

_Aslan's true name must be spoken_

Susan read the words over and over again trying to understand them, she handed the scroll back to William who took it wrapped it back up with the ribbon and placed it carefully back into his pocket.

"What does it mean"? Susan asked

"Well the Gentle and Phoenix is you and me Susan those are our titles that were given to us"

"What titles"?

"You were crowned Queen Susan the Gentle and during my time in Narnia I was known as Sir William the Phoenix" William explained

Susan just shook her head in disbelief, William sighed it was going to take a lot of work for the true Susan to show herself. Not wanting to argue William carried on.

"The creature that threatens the land is obviously Tash threatening the Earth, The rest of it though I have yet to figure out" William said sighing and putting his head in his hands

Susan looked at him and saw that William was under so much pressure and stress; he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Susan sat there and thought about the cult that had attacked her, finally Susan came to her decision.

"Okay I'll help you stop these people, however this does not mean I am willing to believe in a make believe world which I still don't know how you found out about but since you were spying on me it couldn't have been that hard. All I know is that this cult believe in something that doesn't exist but they are willing to kill for it and if nobody else can stop them then I guess I am with you"

William sat back in his armchair and sighed, a small smile tugged at his lips. He looked at Susan with pure relief and gratitude in his eyes, Susan found herself blushing again and quickly turned away from his gaze.

"Thank you Susan, that means a lot"

Susan just nodded, but then a new question came to her mind something that William had mentioned earlier that doesn't make sense. William saw Susan's confused look and like he did before he knew she had another question to ask and he nodded his head at her which she understood as permission to ask him.

"You said earlier that they wanted me because they believe I was the last surviving person to go to Narnia, but how can I be when you two are here and you both claim to have been there"? Susan asked looking from William to Sophia

"Let's just say they don't know about us at the moment, now it's late time for bed I think" William said standing up

Sophia stood up to and Susan followed, Sophia gestured her to follow her and they started moving out of the sitting room. Susan turned back to see that William was standing near the fire and was once again staring into the fire and the way he looked into the fire it seemed that he was much older than the way he looked.

"Goodnight William" Susan said looking at him curiously

"Goodnight Susan, make sure you get plenty of rest" He replied smiling at her

* * *

Father McGuiness sat at his desk once again leaning over pieces of parchment, he was so stressed with the task he had been set that he was not in a good mood and everybody who spoke to him could sense it.

_Knock Knock_

"What"! He thundered staring at the door

The door creaked open and there stood Quigley nervously biting his nails and not making eye contact with Father McGuiness.

"What do you want Quigley"

"My Lord we have searched but we can't find her"

"No matter Quigley, if she is with William we will meet them soon after all we need to find the five items before they do. However if they are searching as well then we most certainly will meet them and I can finally get my revenge on William the Phoenix" Father McGuiness said laughing as he undid his robes to show his bare chest.

Quigley looked at his chest and noticed a scar just above his heart; it was circular which meant that it could be a mark from being stabbed by a sword.

"Is that the mark he left on you my lord" Quigley asked

"Yes Quigley that is what he did to me and when we do meet them I will leave my own mark on him"

Father McGuiness started laughing; Quigley gave a nervous laugh before bowing and quickly leaving the room. Once the office door had been closed Father McGuiness stopped laughing and returned to his desk.

"Oh yes I think we we'll be seeing each other very soon"


	7. Important Discovery

Chapter Seven

Important Discovery

Sleep for Susan that night was restless, the attack from that cult had left her with many cuts and bruises which made it difficult to find a comfortable position. However that wasn't the worst of it, the worse thing was the horrible dreams she had started having every time she closed her eyes it was the same dream the Earth burning, the skies black and that horrible creature standing on a mountain of bones. The creature kept saying her name in a high cold voice which sent shivers down Susan's spine, then Susan woke up covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

A little bit of light was coming through the curtains in her room which meant it must be early in the morning, knowing that she wasn't going to get back to sleep Susan decided to get up. Once she had washed and had put on fresh clothes which Sophia had given her she ventured downstairs to the kitchen. When she entered Sophia was already there making breakfast, when she spotted Susan she smiled.

"Morning" She said brightly

"Morning" Susan repeated taking a seat at the tiny table in the centre.

"Would you like a cup of tea"? Asked Sophia

"Please"

Sophia got to work making tea; she seemed to be in a good mood as she hummed happily while she worked to make tea and breakfast. Once the tea was made she placed the cup on the table for Susan who nodded her thanks and took a sip, she looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was only seven o'clock.

"Would you like some breakfast Susan"?

"Yes please"

"How about some eggs"?

Susan nodded and smiled at that, she continued drinking her tea and just watched Sophia work. Susan however was in pain, every time she moved her ribs would hurt and so would her arms. She knew it was the injuries she sustained in the attack; she just wished the pain would go away.

"Is William not up yet"? Susan asked trying to take her mind off the pain.

"He's been up for ages, he's in the study at the moment he spends most days in there now" Sophia informed

"What's he doing"? Susan asked curious

"He's trying to figure out how to stop Tash from being released"

Susan remembered the night before and how she agreed to help William and Sophia stop Tash from being released on Earth. Apparently the way to do that was to find five items that would somehow stop him, Susan at that moment didn't know what to believe so she decided to push it from her mind for now.

"How long have you known William"? Susan asked

"A very long time, I knew him during his first time in Narnia" Sophia answered

Susan just shook her head they really thought Narnia actually existed; Sophia hadn't noticed Susan shake her head and happily placed a plate of eggs in front of Susan. Susan slowly ate her eggs which she had to admit tasted amazing, once she had finished she helped Sophia clear up. However when she went to pass a plate to her Susan's side hurt worse than before, she gasped in pain and put her hand to her side. It was not missed by Sophia who looked at Susan concerned and gently helped her sit back down.

"What's wrong"?

"My side it hurts, I think it's from the attack"

"I saw some bruises when I tended to you but they didn't look too bad" Sophia explained

Susan's side continued to hurt like it was on fire, Sophia then told Susan to go to the study and speak to William about it as he would know what to do. Susan was helped up out of the chair and very slowly walked out of the kitchen and used the walls and furniture to help her make it to the study.

When she reached the door of the study she gently knocked and a voice through the door told her to come in. Susan opened the door and entered the study, William was sat behind a desk with many books and pieces of paper scattered over it. He looked up as she entered and greeted her with that warm smile.

"Good Morning Susan" He said

"Morning" Susan replied gasping and clutching her side

"What's a matter" William asked standing up from the desk and helping her to the seat opposite.

"My side really hurts" Susan said closing her eyes wishing that this pain would go away

William gave her a small smile, he then went back behind his desk opened a draw and pulled out a tiny glass bottle filled with red liquid. He then poured her a glass of water from a jug on the side of the office and poured a drop of the red liquid into the water.

"Here drink this" William instructed handing her the water

Susan downed the water and as soon as she swallowed she immediately started to feel better, a warm feeling spread through her body and the pain disappeared. Susan couldn't believe it she turned away from William and gently lifted up her shirt to find that the bruises on her sides were no longer there.

"How did you do that"? Susan asked astonished

"It's a special kind of tonic" William replied sitting back down and not looking at her.

Susan had the feeling that he wasn't being honest with her but she chose to ignore it, instead she sat back down in the chair opposite him and looked at all the pieces of paper, documents, maps and books all sprawled out on the desk.

"So any ideas on what the five items are"?

"None so far, they could be anything" William said

Susan tried thinking what the items could be and what items would possibly be involved in plot to release a creature on Earth. However Susan couldn't think of anything Narnia to her was always a game; her siblings were the true experts on anything Narnia related they were the ones who imagined everything.

"How could I be so stupid" William suddenly shouted causing Susan to jump

"What is it"? Susan asked confused

"How did I miss it, it's so simple the five items are the five objects that were used to bring the humans into Narnia"

However William then started shaking his head, he put his head in his hands and sighed. How could he be so wrong that wasn't it or was it, he started flicking through another book before he shouted out again a smile on his face.

"I was right the five items are the objects used to bring people into Narnia, see there's the wardrobe that brought you and your siblings in, the horn that brought you in the second time, the painting that brought your younger siblings in and finally the four rings that were used to bring in Digory and Polly" William explained smiling

"But that would make seven" Susan said

"Yes I thought at first, but there are two sets of rings green rings and yellow rings, it's the two sets that are counted which means put with the other three items makes five items"

"Okay but where are these items now"? Susan asked

"Good question, but at least we know what they are now we can physically start searching now"

So William, Susan and Sophia spent the rest of that day trying to track down the five items that were used to transport humans into Narnia. However William knew that the cult might also know what the items were which meant they had to locate them as quickly as possible.


	8. Good People

Chapter Eight

Good People

Father McGuiness was sitting behind his desk once again that night, however he wasn't hunched over pieces of parchment like he usually was this time he was simply reading a book. To him though it was no ordinary book it was a book titled _The Adventures of Sir William the Phoenix_, after reading through all of the different adventures of the Phoenix he turned a page and finally found the page that showed the relationship between Sir William and Queen Susan.

_The Golden Age of Narnia is considered to be one of the greatest times in Narnian history; however it was not without its conflicts. The most famous and probably most horrific conflict during that time was the Galman War, at that time Galma was considered as an independent nation even though it was a small island. But King Priham of Galma was not happy with just having an island he wanted an empire, so he devised a plan to invade the neighbouring country of Narnia. When his troops landed on the beach of Narnia he was met by an army led by High King Peter the Magnificent, King Edmund the Just and the Archer Queen Susan the Gentle. However his troops were victorious in the first battle, later they captured Cair Paravel which was a huge victory for the Galmans. The Kings and Queens fled and King Priham could feel victory in the air, but he missed one thing. The High Protector of Narnia had not been seen since he lost the Narnian Civil War against Jadis, yet he mysteriously returned to aid the Kings and Queens in this war. His aid was greatly needed but the Narnians were met with a shocking blow by the death of the beloved High Protector. His death though was not in vain, because of his sacrifice and the timely arrival of Aslan with King Lune and an Archenland army the Narnians were able to defeat the Galmans in the final battle of the war. With a Narnian victory High King Peter claimed the island of Galma as part of the Narnian Empire and gave the charge of it to a trusted member of his court and made him Duke of the island. Yet everyone knows that the High Protector and Queen Susan fell deeply in love, it was mainly for this reason why Queen Susan refused suitors who asked for her hand in marriage. Although devastated by her loss of the man she loved Queen Susan never lost hope of seeing him again and all Narnians believe that the High Protector will return when Narnia needs its Phoenix once more. _

"So William you still love the Gentle Queen" Father McGuiness whispered to himself an evil smile on his lips.

* * *

Susan opened her eyes to find that she was lying down on the sofa in the sitting room. She gently sat up and saw that she wasn't alone; William was sitting in the armchair and was once again staring into the fire. His eyes looked sad in the fire light and Susan could see that those eyes were ones of a man that had seen a lot in his life and showed that he had wisdom beyond his years; Susan didn't know how it would be he was only twenty four same as her.

"What time is it"? Susan asked

William turned at her and gave a small smile, whatever he was thinking about still showed on his face. She returned his smile nevertheless, although Susan didn't want to admit but she did love his smile.

"It's late already passed midnight" he replied

"Can't you sleep"?

"No too many things on my mind"

Susan could see that he was under a lot of stress; she then slowly got up and pulled the other armchair next to his. William didn't mind, he welcomed her company he had missed Susan and only wished that she could remember him.

"Do you think we will find all of the items"? Susan asked quietly

"I hope so"

"Where do you think they could be"?

"Well we know that the painting should be at your aunt and uncles house in Cambridge, the horn shouldn't even be on Earth but it's here so that could be anywhere, the wardrobe was probably sold off when Digory Kirke sold his house. But I think tomorrow we will return to your house as if what you say is true then the rings were in the possession of your brothers when they died so hopefully there with the stuff that the police found at the scene and gave back to you" William explained

"Do you think they'll be someone watching the house"?

"Possibly but I don't think they know that your brothers had the rings"

Susan nodded at that, she then looked at William and saw that a small faint scar was visible near his eye. It didn't look like it was a big wound but it did look like it was caused by a small blade of some sort.

"What's that scar"? Susan asked

"What scar"?

"That one near your eye" Susan said pointing to it

"Oh that, it's nothing I got it when I was sixteen" William replied

"How"?

"I was living at an orphanage at that time and my friend was being threatened so I stepped in and it kind of escalated, next thing I knew a small blade had been slashed across face"

"Oh my god, really"? Susan asked shocked

"Yes it wasn't that bad" William replied smiling

They sat there in silence for a few minuets; Susan thought about what they were planning to do and thought how ridiculous everything sounded. She sighed and William looked at her, he knew she didn't believe in Narnia or Aslan but he knew that Susan was still full of good.

"William why are you here"? Susan asked suddenly

"You know why, to stop Tash" William answered confused

"No I mean why are you doing it"?

"Because If I don't nobody else will"

Susan smiled at that, she knew that he believed in Narnia but she also knew that he was doing it because the cult were not afraid to kill innocent people to get what they want and somebody had to stop them.

"I actually don't know why I'm doing it" Susan admitted

"You're doing it Susan because you're a good person"

"A good person, all I did was abandon my family" Susan whispered tears threatening to fall

"Susan your family loved you every minute of everyday and never forget it" William said gently holding her hand and forcing her to look into his eyes.

Susan smiled as she looked at him, he felt so comfortable to be around and was so easy to talk to; Susan felt like she knew him already.

"William I don't think me being a good person will be enough to stop the cult"

"Susan all evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing, but we are in its path and we will stop it all you need to do is hope" William said still holding her hand and looking in her eyes.

"Thank you William"

* * *

The morning was followed by more rain terrorising the borough of Finchley, nobody wanted to linger on the streets. Sophia looked out of the window and stared at the rain, she knew that they had to go to Susan's house today so it looked like they would have to brave the weather today.

She made her way downstairs and started making herself a cup of tea, as she waited for the water to boil she went into the sitting room to open the curtains when she stopped at what awaited her.

There fast asleep in the armchair was William and Susan. Susan's head rested on his chest and William's arm wrapped around her back protectively and his chin rested on top of her head. Sophia stood silently at the scene before her; they truly did make a nice couple. She decided to leave the curtains and returned to the kitchen allowing William and Susan a few more minuets of peace.


	9. The Second Attack

Chapter Nine 

The Second Attack 

Susan stood in the middle of the sitting room staring out at the rain soaked street before her; today she was going home for the first time since the attack. Although she was nervous she understood that at the moment the rings being in the possession of her brothers when they died and the painting being at her aunt and uncles in Cambridge were the best two leads they had to finding at least three of the five items.

"Are you okay"? A soft voice asked

Susan turned around to see to William standing in the doorway watching her; he wore the black coat again showing that he was ready to return to Susan's home. She nodded in response to his question and slowly followed William out of the sitting room and into the hallway where Sophia was waiting for them. She handed Susan a black raincoat while Sophia was wearing a brown one, William picked up something wrapped in a blanket by the door.

"Everybody ready"? He asked

"Ready" replied Sophia who Susan noticed was also carrying something wrapped up in blankets

"Ready" muttered Susan looking at William and given him a small smile

William smiled back and then opened the front door to reveal the heavy rain hammering down outside. They hurried to the black car that was parked in the driveway, William quickly got into the driver's seat, Sophia hurried into the back and Susan slid into the passenger seat next to William.

William reversed out of the driveway and started heading towards Susan's street and house. The roads were quite clear as most people were deciding to stay in the safety and warmth of their homes instead of facing the cold and horrible weather outside.

When they arrived at the house they found it quiet and no sign of anyone around it. William looked around trying to see if anyone looked to be watching the house but he couldn't see anyone. He then slowly got out and stepped out onto the street in the rain and looked around again to make sure the coast was clear.

"Come on" William said to the other two and together all three of them walked up the path and made it to the front door. Susan quickly lifted up the pot of a small plant on the doorstep and pulled out a spare key which she used to open the door, once it was open all three stepped inside and closed the door.

"Okay Susan go upstairs, look through your brother's things and see if you can find them" William said.

Susan nodded and headed up the stairs to the bedroom that used to belong to her brothers, William and Sophia both placed whatever was wrapped in the blankets on the sofa in the sitting room and then followed Susan upstairs.

When they arrived in room that used to belong to Peter and Edmund they found Susan on her knees searching through boxes and chests where the rings might have been put. William and Sophia helped Susan search around the room for a few minuets until William suddenly stopped and stood frozen in the middle of the room.

"What is it"? Susan and Sophia asked at the same time

William didn't reply he just stood frozen for a few seconds; he then walked out into the hallway and stayed there for another few seconds. Susan and Sophia shared confused looks at his behaviour they followed him into the hallway where William turned to face them.

"_Elen Nim Anor_" William said to Sophia who nodded

Susan looked to both of them confused; William gave her a small smile and then ran downstairs. Susan went to run when Sophia grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the bedroom.

"What is going on, what language was he speaking in"? Susan asked annoyed

"It doesn't matter, come on let's continue looking" Sophia replied as she started looking through another box.

* * *

William moved downstairs slowly, after telling Sophia to stay with Susan he had left them after hearing a noise. When he arrived in the hallway he noticed that the temperature was colder downstairs then up, he ventured more down the hallway and walked into the kitchen; that's when he noticed the back door open.

He cautiously moved towards it and slowly closed it, that's when he noticed on the kitchen floor wet footprints. He realised what was going on and ran for hallway only to be met with a man dressed in a soldier's uniform lunging at him from behind the kitchen door with a knife in his hand.

William reacted fast and managed to catch the soldier's arm before the knife made contact, he then managed to throw the soldier over the kitchen table only to be met with another soldier coming from behind and jumping on his back.

They both struggled, William tried throwing the soldier off his back but his arm was tightly around his neck slowly choking him. William was thinking hard as the air from his lungs was being slowly drained by the soldier's arm wrapped firmly around his neck, however William finally gathered the last of strength he could he muster and reached around grabbed the soldier by the head and pulled him off his back onto the kitchen table in front of them which collapsed under the soldier's weight.

The other soldier with the knife then again lunged towards William who managed to block it and punch him in the face sending him crashing into one of the kitchen cupboards. William then heard a scream from upstairs and immediately knew that Susan and Sophia were in danger.

As he tried to run into the hallway the soldier with the knife came at him once more, but William ducked it, punched him in the stomach and then smashed his head into a kitchen cupboard sending it through and knocking him out.

William finally ran out into the hallway only to see Susan and Sophia running down the stairs followed by another soldier carrying an axe. William managed to duck underneath it and tackle him down to the floor, he then punched the solider repeatedly but was eventually thrown off into a wall where his head smashed against it and he fell to the floor motionless.

"William"! Susan shouted

Sophia however acted fast and pulled Susan into the sitting room where they were followed by the soldier with the axe. The soldier started to swing the axe towards Susan and Sophia who started to back away, Sophia however aimed a spinning heel kick at the soldier which connected with his head sending him falling onto the coffee table causing it to collapse.

"Come on let's go" Sophia yelled

However as they were about to leave the sitting room, the soldier grabbed Susan by the ankle causing her to fall to the floor. The man picked up the axe and lifted it above his head, just when he was about to strike he was jumped on by William.

The two men wrestled on the floor, both of them throwing punched and kicks at one another. The soldier then once again managed to push William off him and picked up his axe. William made it back to his feet and saw the soldier coming towards him swinging the axe; William dived onto the sofa and grabbed whatever was wrapped in the blankets.

The soldier brought the axe down upon William only for it to be stopped by a glowing white sword that William brought out from the blankets, the soldier desperately tried to strike William but his efforts were deflected by the glowing sword until William managed to disarm him and put the sword through the soldier's stomach.

The soldier gave scream of pain before he gave a small twitch and fell to floor dead and covered in his own blood. William stood there panting and holing a glowing sword which was now stained in blood, he then looked at Susan who looked at him with a shocked and scared expression on her face.

"You killed him" was all that she said


	10. Unconvinced

Chapter Ten 

Unconvinced 

Susan stood there frozen in total shock; she couldn't believe William had just killed a man. She understood that the cult were willing to kill but she never knew they would be killing to, William just ignored the look on her face and quickly picked up whatever was wrapped up in the other blankets and threw it to Sophia who caught it. Next thing Susan knew Sophia was holding short twin swords and was running back into the hallway ready to engage the other soldiers.

"Susan did you find the rings"? William shouted at her

Susan however did not answer, she just stood there staring at the corpse of the soldier on the floor and covered in blood. Susan kept asking herself why she had gotten into this mess because now she was sure be involved in a murder investigation.

"Susan"! William yelled shaking her

"No I didn't find them" Susan replied her eyes still on the corpse

William swore and ran back into the hallway dragging Susan behind him by the arm; Sophia was fighting three soldiers at once with her twin swords. William rushed forward with his glowing sword and started trying to push the soldier's back, although the soldier's were only armed with daggers and axes they still seemed to have some training in fighting with those kind of weapons as they were able to put up a good fight against William and Sophia.

Susan stood there in stunned silence as she watched William and Sophia fight the soldiers with all their might. Sophia though started to falter; she was knocked backwards and landed at Susan's feet. William looked at Sophia then at Susan and came to a decision he whispered something to his glowing sword which suddenly started to glow blue, then a burst of light erupted from the blade sending the remaining soldiers flying.

"We have to get out of here, Susan help me with Sophia" William shouted

Susan hesitated for a few seconds but then came to her senses and helped William pull Sophia back to her feet. They all then ran out of the house and into the car waiting in the driveway.

William helped Sophia into the back seat and gave her the twin swords and his glowing sword before jumping into the driver's seat and starting the engine. However Susan was still standing in the driveway just staring at the car.

"Susan get in the car" William shouted at her

Susan just looked at him but did not say anything and didn't move; William got out of the car and ran around to where Susan was standing. He took her hand and tried pulling her towards the car but Susan refused to move willingly.

"Susan please get into the car" William pleaded looking into her eyes

Susan allowed herself to be pulled into the passenger seat, William ran around and jumped back into the drivers seat and reversed the car out of the driveway and out into the road. Susan stared out of the window as William drove the car through the streets of Finchley; people on the street paid no attention to the trio in the car.

Eventually William pulled into the driveway of their house and gave a sigh of relief when he turned off the engine. Susan without saying a word got out of the car and stormed into the house, William noticed the way she was acting and followed close behind her.

"Susan, what happened back there"? William demanded

"You killed someone that's what happened"! Susan yelled in his face

"I had to they were trying to kill us"! William yelled back

Sophia entered the house to find the two of them staring at each other with looks of fury, as William was much taller than Susan she had to look up and stand on her toes to be able to shout in his face more.

"What kind of people are we if we go around killing people"? Susan asked furiously

"We are only killing to defend ourselves, trust me this cult will stop at nothing until they have killed all of us" William argued

"Why the hell should I trust you" Susan shouted in his face before turning around and storming up the stairs to her room.

* * *

William watched her go and then heard the door to her bedroom slam. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair; he looked at Sophia who was shaking her head at him.

"What"? He demanded

"You can't be so hard on her" Sophia said

William turned his whole body towards her with a look of fury on his face, however although William's cold look would of reduced the toughest men to little children Sophia did not falter.

"I am not being hard on her, I am just trying to tell her that this is a dangerous time" William began

"Yes but William she has forgotten who she used to be, you have to give her time to adjust to everything that's happening"

William stood there in silence, he understood what Sophia was saying however he didn't have enough time to allow Susan to adjust not when the cult were growing and moving. He slowly turned and walked into the sitting room; he lit a fire and sat down in his armchair, Sophia followed him and sat down on the sofa opposite.

"This quest is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life" William said after a while

"I know, Earth isn't Narnia" Sophia replied

William just nodded he knew that if they were in Narnia he could of crushed this cult with a small number of Narnian soldiers. But here in England there was no Narnian army there was only him, Sophia and hopefully Susan as well, they were all that was left of the people who knew about Narnia.

"Alright I'll give her some time, but we need to move fast if were going to find all the items" William said

"I understand" Sophia replied

William sat in silence, he thought about Narnia and how it was gone there was no more times for him there. He was happy at living in Aslan's Country but that meant he was forced to be eternal and miss on all the normal experiences of life such as falling in love with someone, marriage, raise a family and eventually grow old with someone. He knew that he had fallen in love twice and was married to Swanwhite and was going to have a child with her but all of that was taken away from him.

"I'd better wrap these up then" Sophia said rolling her twin swords back into the blankets

"No leave mine" William said holding his hand out for his glowing sword which at the moment wasn't glowing.

Sophia handed it to him and he took it in one hand, as soon as he touched it the white glow returned to the sword and William sighed. He looked to the stairs and knew he had to try and talk to Susan.

He got up from the armchair and moved towards the stairs which he climbed with his sword still in his hand. Once he reached the landing he moved towards the room which had become Susan's and gently knocked.

"Susan can I come in"? William asked through the door

There was no reply so William knocked a few more times before slowly turning the handle and opening the door. As he stepped into the room he saw Susan laying face down on her bed, he slowly closed the door behind him and stood at the foot of the bed.

"Susan please look at me" William pleaded

Susan lifted her head from the pillow and turned to look at him, she glared when she noticed the sword in his hand. She then sat up and turned her body to face him, William did not flinch from her look of fury but remained calm standing at the foot of her bed.

"Why did you kill him"? Susan asked

"Because he was trying to kill me" William answered

"Don't give me that, I saw you fight him it's seems to me that killing is one of the few things you know"

William sighed and lowered his head, it was true killing was what he had done for years all the battles he had in Narnia and fighting in the war back on Earth. However William made sure that it never controlled him, he made sure that fighting and killing was always a last resort.

"Your right I do know how to kill I've done it many times through fighting in wars, but I never let it control me" William said quietly

"What wars have you fought in your only twenty four, you were too young to fight in the latest war" Susan asked confused

"I fought in wars in Narnia Susan" William replied

Susan shook her head and laid back down, she had had enough of people talking about Narnia it didn't exist it was a made up world. William moved and sat down on the end of the bed, his glowing sword rested on his knees.

"Why does that sword glow"? Susan asked

"Because it's a magic sword, its name is Excalibur Susan"

Susan gasped; Excalibur was the sword that supposedly belonged to the legendary King Arthur. She shook her head for the second time, she couldn't believe it Excalibur was a stupid legend nothing more.

"I've had enough of your made up stories so just get out" Susan snapped

"Susan..." William began

"Get Out"! Susan shouted

William sighed and sat up he walked to the door and slowly opened it; however he turned around and looked at Susan. Susan glared at him and told him to get out one more time but he did not move he stood where he was.

"Susan dark and difficult times are coming, to defeat Tash we need to stand united" William said before turning around walking out of the room leaving Susan alone.


	11. The Legend of the Phoenix

Chapter Eleven 

The Legend of the Phoenix 

Susan slowly opened her eyes; she could see daylight filtering through the curtains of her room which showed that morning was here. Susan however didn't feel like getting up after what happened between her and William yesterday, she hadn't spoken to or seen him since they had that argument and at that moment she didn't want to.

However after a while Susan finally decided she had to get up and attempt to face him. She got herself dressed and headed down the stairs; however when she arrived downstairs there seemed to be nobody else in the house.

"Hello"? She called

Nobody answered her; Susan had to admit she was feeling a little bit nervous now after the two attacks that had happened she didn't like the feeling of being alone right now. She wished she had tried to sort things out with William because now she had no idea where he was.

"Hello"? She called again

"In here" Sophia's voice replied from the sitting room

Susan entered the room to find Sophia sitting alone in one of the armchair's reading a book; she looked up as Susan approached and gave her a small smile. Susan gave a little smile in return as Sophia closed her book and placed it on a small table next to the armchair.

"Can I get you anything"? Sophia asked

"No, thank you" Susan said sitting down on the sofa opposite.

Sophia gave Susan a sad smile, Susan turned away from her she didn't want to see that look from her. As Susan looked around the room it was the first time she had done so properly and the first time she noticed what a lovely cosy room it really was. Susan then finally turned back to Sophia who was still watching her and decided to ask Sophia a question that she had been wanting to ask for a few days now.

"You said that you knew William in Narnia right"?

"Yes I did" Sophia replied

"Tell me, what was he like then if he really was in Narnia"

Sophia sat in silence for a minute and looked like she seemed to be concentrating on something. Susan sat there silently while she waited patiently for Sophia to begin; she made herself more comfortable as Sophia started.

"He was in one word amazing; he was a trueborn leader and warrior one of the greatest Narnia had ever seen. He was loved by all Narnians and hated by all Calormene's, mostly because they could never defeat Narnia while he was leading.

"What's a Calormene"? Susan asked

"It's a person from a country called Calormen, it was a country that was a huge enemy of Narnia" Sophia answered

"So William was like a general or something wasn't he"? Susan asked

"He was far greater than a general Susan; he was the first and only High Protector in Narnian history"

Susan thought about that, she had never heard of a title like that before. She also realised she was getting interested in this story and had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't real there was no such place as Narnia and there was so such thing as a High Protector. But Susan allowed Sophia to continue as she wanted to see how much of a good story her and William had come up with.

"So if he was some great High Protector, why did he leave Narnia"? Susan asked

To her surprise Sophia's face darkened, she stared into the fire that was keeping the house lovely and warm. Susan thought about asking if something was wrong but she became scared after seeing the ferocious look that Sophia now wore.

"War came, an evil witch called Jadis swept through Narnia. First her army took the north followed by the west then the south, only the east of Narnia stood free and that was what William fought so hard to defend. However it wasn't enough, William was betrayed and was eventually defeated; he lost everything and was returned to Earth"

Susan sat in silence shocked at what was just said, she had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't real but the more she tried to think that the more she slowly started to believe them. But to Susan's surprise Sophia started to smile, she looked at her weirdly but all that did was make Sophia smile more.

"Why are you smiling"?

"Because although William was defeated and left Narnia his legend lived on, you should of heard all of the crazy stories the Narnians came up with like he could make a whole army run away with just one look" Sophia explained

Susan smiled at that, she could imagine someone like William being remembered for many years. Then another question appeared in her head, this one was a little bit more private but she was curious and wanted to know.

"Sophia, can I ask you something"?

"Of course" Sophia replied smiling

"Are you and William together"? Susan asked

To her surprise Sophia started laughing; Susan didn't think the question was funny but it seemed that to Sophia it was one of the funniest things she had ever heard. Susan waited patiently for Sophia to get a hold of herself before continuing.

"What's so funny"? Susan asked bewildered

"I'm sorry, no were not together we are just close friends" Sophia answered

Susan just nodded at that, she didn't know why she had asked that question she was just curious to know if they were or not. However as she sat there another question popped into her head, she looked at Sophia who was still smiling before asking.

"Did you ever come close"?

Sophia scrunched up her face in concentration; Susan guessed she was supposedly remembering back to those days. Finally Sophia looked at Susan and gave a small smile.

"No, William fell for someone else" Sophia said

"Who"?

"Swanwhite, the queen of Narnia"

Susan had to admit, this story was drawing her in she had to keep telling herself that it wasn't real. However the more Sophia talked the more Susan found herself slowly imagining the story being true, but as she sat there listening to Sophia talk about William it suddenly hit Susan that she hadn't seen William this morning.

"Where is William"?

"He went out early this morning, said he had something to do" Sophia explained.

So the rest of the day passed with Susan and Sophia talking happily with each other, Susan helped Sophia make dinner and was enjoying spending time with her. She was laughing and joking for the first time in three years.

* * *

Suddenly the door to the house opened and then closed again. A couple of seconds later William entered the kitchen wearing his long black coat, he smiled at both of the girls but the smile he gave to Susan was a bit awkward.

"How did it go"? Sophia asked

"No luck yet, I'll try again tomorrow" William answered

Sophia nodded and resumed preparing the dinner; William took off his black coat and placed gently on the back of a chair. He then looked at Susan and motioned her to follow him, Susan glanced at Sophia who gave her a small smile and then followed William to the study.

"Now Susan about last night" William said sitting down behind his desk

"William its fine, I understand now that he was trying to kill you" Susan replied smiling

William smiled back and thanked her; they both then resumed their original plan and tried to guess where the items were. The evening wore on and soon Sophia was calling them for dinner, William lead the way out of the study to the dining room where the trio sat down and started to eat the wonderful meal that Sophia had prepared.

"So William where you today"? Susan asked

"I was looking for someone, a person I think may give us answers of where the items are" William explained.

Susan gently put another mouthful in her mouth and chewed it as she thought about what person on Earth would know where magical items were. William and Sophia started talking about where they could fine the person, this caused Susan to hurriedly swallow and ask another question.

"Who is this person"?

"His name is Nemen and he is a man said to have lived for thousands of years and has travelled through many different worlds" William answered

"So you think this Nemen person knows where the items are"? Susan asked

"I hope so, it is said that he has an incredible amount of knowledge" William answered

Susan nodded and resumed eating her dinner; she was trying desperately not to believe what William and Sophia were telling her but the more she was told the more she slowly started to believe.

* * *

The office was dark; once again the only source of light was a lone candle which sat on the desk. Father McGuiness was again hunched over his desk scribbling something on a piece of parchment; he sat in silence until there came a knock at the office door.

"Enter" he said

The door slowly opened and in walked a man dressed in a soldier's uniform, he had a big gash down the side of his face and was limping showing that his leg was injured. He closed the door behind him and limped over to the desk.

"You wanted to see me my lord"? The soldier asked

"Yes I want to know how you let Queen Susan escape a second time" said Father McGuiness

"She had help my lord, the same man who helped her last time" the soldier answered

Father McGuiness slammed his fists down on the desk causing the soldier to jump, he hated that once again William had managed to help the gentle queen escape his grasp. He looked back at the soldier and gave a small smile.

"I don't blame you" Father McGuiness said gently

"You don't my lord"? The soldier asked confused and anxious

"No you couldn't have known somebody would help her" he replied moving from behind his desk

The soldier gave a sigh of relief, but that was short lived when Father McGuiness hit him straight in the face causing him to hit the floor. Father McGuiness then kicked the soldiers many times on floor which caused the soldier to struggle moving.

"I despise failure" Father McGuiness whispered as he pulled out a dagger and with one stroke cut the soldiers throat.

He watched the soldier's life slowly fade away as blood from his now open throat spilled onto the carpet of the office. Yet Father McGuiness felt no pity and no remorse but only felt annoyance at not being able to do it to William.

"Soon William, soon"

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while I have been extremely busy, I promise I will try and find more time to write. **

**Long Live Aslan!**

**Aslan's Author**


	12. Nightmares

Chapter 12

Nightmares 

_The Earth burning around her, everywhere Susan looked she saw corpses littering the ground. The sky was dark and black; the ground beneath her feet was nothing but ash. Susan turned and that was when she saw it, the hideous creature which was seven feet tall, had the head of a vulture and four long bony arms with claws on the end of them. Susan stood frozen in fear, the creature stood on a mountain of bones and gave a high cold laugh. _

"_Susan the Gentle" the creature said _

"_What are you"? Susan screamed _

"_I am the destroyer of your world" the creature replied laughing _

_Susan looked around her again and saw the world burning and screaming. She heard someone calling her name and looked up and gave a mighty scream there hanging from some strange black symbol was her sister Lucy. _

"_Lucy"! "Let her go, you monster" Susan yelled at the creature _

_The creature did nothing but laugh, there were then more shouts and Susan screamed again as she saw Peter, Edmund and her parents all tied to the same strange symbol as Lucy. _

"_This is what you fear Gentle Queen, you turned your back on your family and your beliefs" The creature shouted at her_

"_NO"! _

"_Let's not forget how you turned your back on the one you loved" The creature said pointing behind her with one of its many arms. _

_Susan turned and saw William tied to the same symbol as her family, except unlike her family William was dead on the symbol with a long spear sticking out of his torso and eyes which used to be emerald green and full of life were now cold and lifeless. _

"_NO"! Susan screamed tears pouring down her cheeks_

_The creature laughed again enjoying watching Susan's pain and misery. Susan couldn't believe what was happening, she kept on screaming and couldn't stop; she cried and screamed as the world around her slowly burned. _

"Susan, Susan wake up" a voice yelled

Susan opened her eyes and found herself with screaming in her bed and covered in sweat. She was met by the emerald green eyes of William who was alive and well looking at her concerned.

"Susan, are you alright"? William asked

Susan didn't bother answering she just moved forward and pulled William into a hug and started crying into his chest. She felt his arms wrap around her protectively and pulled her closer, he stroked her hair and told her it was going to be alright. That was the worst nightmare Susan had ever had and she couldn't shake the thoughts of her family on the symbols and William dead with a spear through him.

"Susan, what was it"? William asked pushing her away from him so he could look at her face.

Susan looked at him and thought about telling him everything, but the more she thought about it the more she was afraid of telling it. She mumbled something about a bad dream which William nodded at and to her surprise did not push further; Susan spotted Sophia standing in the doorway and gave her small smile which she returned.

"Do you want me to get you anything"?

"No I'll be fine, thank you William" Susan replied

* * *

Father McGuiness was kneeling on the carpet of his office; he was staring at the weird red symbol which had been drawn on the wall. The temperature of the room lowered as a cold wind entered the room causing the candle flickering on the desk to suddenly go out leaving Father McGuiness kneeling in the dark.

"My master" Father McGuiness said to the darkness

"Have you found Susan the Gentle"? A high cold voice asked

"No master, she has escaped again"

There was silence; this caused Father McGuiness to become anxious. Suddenly he felt something sharp scrape his face causing him to gasp in pain and hold his face, he could feel his blood dripping through his fingers and onto the floor.

"How could you have let this happen"? The voice yelled

"I'm sorry master; she had help William the Phoenix is on Earth" Father McGuiness informed

The voice did not speak; it gave a mighty shout of anger. Father McGuiness started to shake on the floor. Although he loyally served his master he did not want to make him angry.

"You need to find those items, then I can truly walk the Earth and none of Aslan's chosen children will be able to stop us" the voiced said

"I will master, I will" Father McGuiness promised

The cold air then disappeared and the candle flickered back into life, Father McGuiness waited for a minute then slowly raised himself off the floor and sat down behind his desk. He looked through the draws of the desk and found a small mirror, which he held up to his face; he groaned when he saw the gash which went across his cheek which told him he could not fail.

* * *

Susan slowly walked down the stairs; she could hear the rain from outside and knew that it was another cold February morning which not many people would dare to brave. The house was silent; she ventured into the sitting room and found Sophia once again sitting in an armchair reading a book.

"Morning" Sophia said

"Morning" Susan muttered back

Sophia gave Susan a sad smile and then resumed reading her book. William was nowhere to be seen and at first Susan thought he had gone off on his own again until she heard the door to the study open and then close.

"William's in the study then"? Susan asked Sophia

"Yes, he's doing research on Nemen" Sophia answered

Susan nodded at that and then proceeded to the study, she knocked on the door and was told to enter by William's voice through the other side of the door. She slowly turned the handle and stepped into the room; William was sat behind his desk and was looking over many pieces of paper and many books.

"William" Susan said

"Morning Susan, how are you feeling?" He asked as soon he saw her

"I'm fine, thank you" Susan said not wanting to be questioned about that horrible nightmare.

William just nodded and resumed looking through pages of a book again. Susan closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair opposite, she was silent and just watched William work for a few minuets until finally she couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Any luck"? She asked

"Not yet, the problem is that Nemen is very hard to track down especially when he doesn't want to be found" William said

"You talk like you've met him"

"That's because I have"

Susan was quiet at that, she wanted to ask where but she knew he would have said Narnia. William looked up from the book and looked at her; Susan met his eyes and once again had the image of the nightmare where his eyes were cold and lifeless.

"Yes it was in Narnia" William said

Susan gasped in surprise; she couldn't believe how intuitive he was. William chuckled at the look on her face and Susan couldn't help but smile, his laugh was like music to her ears.

"So what did you meet him for"? She asked

"He gave me helpful information on an item I wanted to find, he told me the place where I could find it" William replied

"So do you think he will tell us where the items are"?

"I hope so, the problem is finding him though he travels through worlds, so we can't be sure he's on Earth at the moment" William explained

"So how do you know if he's in a world"?

"He leaves signs, however the signs are very discrete and you have to look very close to find them"

Susan nodded at that, she then decided to leave William to his work and left the study. After spending the morning helping Sophia with some chores the afternoon had soon arrived and that meant Sophia had to start preparing dinner, however as they started to prepare dinner William arrived in the kitchen and smiled at the pair of them.

"Found anything"? Sophia asked him

"Maybe, there have been some unexplained events around different countries in the world and I suspect it could be Nemen" William replied

"What kind of events"? Sophia asked

"Well there was a poacher in Africa and he swears that before his eyes his jeep burst into flames and that all the animals that he had captured disappeared without a trace"

"How can you be so sure it was this Nemen person"? Susan asked confused

"Because Nemen might be a traveller, but he cares for all living things there is no way he would allow innocent animals to be harmed" William explained

"But how can he make animals disappear into thin air"?

"Quite easily, he is a sorcerer after all" William answered

"A sorcerer"? "You mean he can do magic"?

"Yes he can"

Before Susan could say anything else the doorbell rang, William looked at the door like he had never seen one before. He looked at Sophia who understood what he was saying with that look; she grabbed Susan by the arm and dragged her out the kitchen and into the study where William heard the door lock.

He then grabbed a knife that was on the kitchen table and slowly moved towards the door. The doorbell kept ringing signalling that whoever was at the door wasn't going away, William grabbed the handle and then took one deep breath wrenched the door open.

William dropped the knife in surprise which clattered to the floor, the familiar face just smiled at him. The man at the door was just a little bit shorter than William and had ginger hair and dark brown eyes.

"Hello brother, surprised to see me"? Said George smiling


	13. Family Reunion

Chapter 13

Family Reunion

"Are you going to let me in"? George asked smiling

William didn't answer; he walked forward and dragged George into a brotherly hug. George hugged him back and patted him on the back; William then pulled him into the house and closed the front door behind them.

"What are you doing here"?

"A mutual friend allowed me to visit" George replied winking

William smiled at that and thanked the great lion for this massive favour; William had missed his brother greatly. They continued to stand there smiling until they heard Sophia's voice from behind the door asking if everything was alright. William told her everything was fine and the brothers watched as the study door opened to reveal the two young women.

"Hello Sophia, It's been a long time" George said smiling

Sophia didn't say anything; she just stood there staring at George. Finally she started to move slowly towards him, William wondered what she was doing but she wasn't looking at him at all; her attention was totally focused on George. When she eventually reached him, she just carried on staring at him then instead of speaking she threw her fist back and smacked George full on in the face.

"George you traitor"! She yelled

She carried on hitting him, but he did not flinch or even show the tiniest bit of pain or fear. William reacted fast and grabbed Sophia, he pulled her away from George and placed her down in front of him, he then stood in between them and glared at Sophia.

"That's enough" he growled

"William, he betrayed you" Sophia shouted in disbelief

"I have forgiven him for that"

"I can't see how you ever could; it was because of him Narnia fell"!

"That's not true, the witch was the reason Narnia fell"

Sophia had a look of shock on her face; she glared from William to George. They both stood their ground, William glared back at Sophia but George remained staring at the other two like they were an interesting puzzle.

"William, if it wasn't for him then Swanwhite wouldn't have died"

"Don't you dare bring her into this"!

Susan was watching from the study doorway in shock, she always thought William and Sophia were really close but here they were standing in the middle of the hallway looking like they wanted to kill each other. She looked at the person called George who was supposed to be William's brother, as she looked at him she thought he looked familiar but she couldn't place him.

"Somebody has to remind you of her" Sophia shouted in William's face

"You think I forget about her, everyday I think of her and my child who I never got to see and you expect me to hate my own brother"? William replied his voice becoming louder with every word.

"I think you still try and see the good in people, even when there isn't any left" Sophia answered glaring at George again

"You have no right to judge him; you weren't there during those days I was"

"That's not fair; you know why I couldn't fight my people never got involved in outside affairs"

"Yes I know they didn't, which meant I was forced to stand alone"

Sophia just stared at William in shock, then with one more look at George she walked straight past the pair of them and up the stairs. A few seconds later they heard the door to her bedroom slam, William then gave a long sigh he motioned for George to follow him into the study and closed the door behind him without even looking at Susan.

* * *

Father McGuiness stood in the chamber underneath the church; he was surrounded by many men and women who were all kneeling. Quigley was beside him quivering with fear, he hated that chamber.

"Those five items are the only things out there that can allow our master to walk the Earth" Father McGuiness announced. "If we don't find them first then all our plans will be ruined and the Earth will not be saved by the Lord Tash"

Everybody in the chamber was quiet; they listened to every word intently and understood everything McGuiness was telling them. Quigley was the only one who wasn't staring at Father McGuiness; he was looking at the ground instead shaking with fear.

"We have enemies on Earth, Queen Susan the Gentle and Sir William the Phoenix. These two threaten everything we hold dear and will try and prevent our master from being released. We must find them and bring them here alive; our master will like to have the revenge against those who serve his greatest enemy Aslan"!

The men and women in the chamber all cheered and were then dismissed by Father McGuiness. They exited one by one leaving only Father McGuiness and Quigley, McGuiness looked at the smaller man and the smile from earlier turned into a snarl.

"Quigley, have we any information on the five items"? He asked

"No my lord, nothing"

Father McGuiness slapped Quigley around the face causing him to scream and cower in fear. Father McGuiness raised his hand to hit a second time but changed his mind and slowly lowered it.

"Quigley without those items our plan is useless" Father McGuiness said

"I know, my lord" Quigley replied holding his cheek and trembling

"What is William planning, if doesn't know the location of the items then how is he going to find them"? Father McGuiness asked himself.

He then walked off and left Quigley standing alone, Quigley trembled on the spot for a moment before he ran after Father McGuiness and back up to the church above.

* * *

"There was no need to yell at her like that" George said

"Don't you defend her" William spat

George just raised his eyebrows but did not reply. William sat down behind his desk and George sat in the chair opposite, for a minute they said nothing to each other William was just happy to look upon his brother's face again.

"So, why are you here"? William asked

"Can't I just come and visit my big brother"? George asked in reply

"We both know Aslan wouldn't have sent you here just to visit, not during a time like this" William said

"Your right as usual, he sent me here to give you some help" George answered

"Do you know where the five items are"? William asked hopefully

"No, but I hear your looking for Nemen"?

"Yes, I'm hoping he'll know where they are"

George just looked at the wall with a puzzled look, William tried to wonder what he was doing but he could not get any answer from his face. William waited patiently hoping George would come out of his trance by himself, however he didn't and William had to interrupt.

"George"?

"Oh sorry, too many memories do come into your mind when you're dead" George said cheerfully

"You were saying about Nemen" William reminded him

"Oh yes, wasn't he the one who told you where to find Aslan's pearl when Swanwhite was ill"?

"Yes and I'm hoping he will know where the items I need to find now are"

George nodded at that, he looked around the office with a smile on his face. William watched his brother and knew that he wouldn't be staying, after all he was dead once himself and just because your dead doesn't mean your no longer useful; Aslan uses the spirits of the fallen to help in different worlds.

"George why did Aslan send you"? William asked looking into his chocolate brown eyes that were same as their late father's.

"He sent me here with a message" George answered

"What message"?

"He told me to tell you, that if you go to the banks of the River Thames in Westminister you might find what you're looking for"

* * *

"Sophia, can I come in"? Susan asked through the door

There was no answer, Susan knocked again and this time she heard Sophia's small voice telling her to enter. She slowly turned the doorknob and walked into the room that belonged to Sophia, she was laying face first on her bed and Susan could hear the sobs of crying coming from her pillow.

"Sophia, what happened down there"? Susan asked

"William made the wrong choice" Sophia replied

"But isn't that man William's brother"?

"He was, until he betrayed him and helped spark a war that destroyed Narnia for more than a hundred years"

"What do you mean he betrayed him"?

"He destroyed the tree of protection and allowed Jadis to enter Narnia, he then helped turn many Narnians against William and helped start a civil war" Sophia explained

"So why did William forgive him then"? Susan asked confused

"Because George redeemed himself, he saved William's life last time they met"

"So why do you hate him so much"? Susan asked

"Because I wasn't allowed to fight in the war, which meant William had no help in fighting Jadis"

"Why weren't you allowed to fight"?

"Because my people wouldn't allow it, it was their way not to interfere in outsider affairs"

"Who were you're people"?

Sophia stayed quiet at that, she sat up and wiped the last of her tears away. She looked at Susan and thought about telling her or not, Susan looked at her in confusion and then her look changed to one of understanding. She squeezed Sophia's hand as a sign to let her know that she could be trusted and could be told.

"Susan, when you first met me did I give off a weird feeling at all"? Sophia asked

Susan thought back to the first night she had met Sophia and William. She still felt a bit guilty for pointing that kitchen knife at Sophia, but she knew that everything was forgiven.

"Yes you did, but I haven't thought anything more about it" Susan answered

"Susan, I gave off that feeling because I'm not human"

"What are you talking about, of course your human I mean you look human"

"I only look it" Sophia replied she then pulled her long red hair behind her ear and revealed the top of her ear which was pointed.

"What's wrong with your ear"? Susan asked in shock

"Susan, I'm an elf"


	14. Sophia's Tale

Chapter 14

Sophia's Tale 

"An elf"? "That's impossible" Susan whispered her face showing her shock

Sophia just looked at Susan, she still wondered if she had made the right decision revealing herself to Susan. However as she looked at her, she saw that Susan had truly forgotten her true self.

"I speak the truth Susan" Sophia replied

"You're lying" Susan said shaking her head

"I would never lie; I am Princess Sophia of the country Elvenden, daughter of King Valor and Queen Lamia and sister to Prince Nadir" Sophia said proudly

"You're a princess"? Susan asked in disbelief

Sophia's eyes darkened at that, she looked at Susan who turned away from her look and started to admire the duvet instead. Sophia relented a little and her look softened, she knew now that she couldn't go back from the truth so she decided to tell the whole truth.

"I suggest you make yourself comfortable, this make take a while"

* * *

"Will you not stay"? William asked his brother as they walked out of the study and towards the front door.

"I wish I could, but Aslan has other tasks for me to complete" George answered giving a sad smile and putting a hand on William's shoulder.

William nodded at that and was relieved that Aslan was working hard, they embraced each other in a brotherly hug and stayed in that position for a good five minuets. Finally George broke the hug and clapped his older brother on the shoulder once more; William smiled and once again thanked Aslan for the gift of seeing his brother once again.

"Don't be too hard on Sophia, in a time like this you need as many allies you can get" George said his tone serious

"I understand, I will apologise and try and make it up to her" William replied nodding

"There's the honourable Phoenix I knew" George laughed

William laughed at that, he kept trying to tell people that the man he was in Narnia was different to the man he was today. Yet he could never convince anyone of that and instead of correcting him, he just nodded in response and smiled.

"Now I must take my leave, remember the message and good luck brother" George said in a soft tone

"Thank you George, I hope to see you again someday" William replied

"You will, one day" George answered winking.

With that George turned the handle of the door and with one last look at William stepped outside and disappeared into the rainy night. William slowly closed the door and leaned back against the wood and gave a long sigh, he glanced up the stairs and knew that he had to try and speak with Sophia but decided to give her some space before he tried it.

* * *

_The Great Elvish City of Andiun sparkled in the magical lights; its tall trees towered higher than any other trees in the world. The Elves who occupied it made sure to preserve the city's outstanding beauty, since the dawn of time the Elves had occupied this magical land and had each vowed to defend it until no more Elves remained. _

_Princess Sophia laughed as she happily soaked her feet in the enchanting River Silverlight so named for the mysterious silver glow the water gave off. Her two handmaidens Alviss and Alfar giggled at the Princesses happy nature, when she was done she retracted her feet from the cool water and the handmaidens hurried forward to dry her feet with towels. _

_They heard a whinny of a horse and were startled when a lovely grey horse bolted out of the surrounding trees and stopped in front of the three females. The Elf sitting on the horse was tall and handsome, his bright blue eyes dazzled in the light from the river and his long blonde hair reached down to his waist. _

"_Sister enjoying the lovely waters of the river"? Prince Nadir asked chucking _

"_I am indeed Brother, why don't you come down from your steed and join us" Sophia invited humour showing on her face_

"_Maybe another time when I can spare a few joyous moments" Nadir replied_

_There was then movement in the trees and Nadir reacted fast by drawing twin swords from the sheaths on his back. However he dropped his defence as soon as another elf that looked older than the others by the river emerged from the trees. _

"_No need for weapons my prince, I mean you no harm" the Elf said raising his hands in surrender. _

"_What is it Esir"? Nadir asked seeing the alarmed look on his face_

"_Your father requests your presence my prince and yours too princess" Esir said looking at the pair_

"_Why does father call us so urgently, is there trouble of some kind"? Sophia asked confused. _

"_Hrofler has found two intruders in our lands, he is brining them before your father" Esir explained_

_The siblings journeyed back through the forest of the elves; the land of Elvenden was sacred and it had never been invaded by a foreign enemy so now knowing that two intruders had stepped into the realm of the Elves was something to worry about. _

_When they arrived in the middle of the city they found that a crowd had already gathered, they moved their way through the crowd which parted instantly for the royal children. They approached a dais that sat underneath the great willow; this was the oldest and most sacred tree in Elvenden where the Elves believed their magic came from. _

_Nadir bowed to the people on the dais and Sophia copied him, she looked up at the man sat on a silver throne, his eyes were blue like Nadirs and his hair was just along except that it was white instead of blonde, this was their father King Valor. A woman stood beside him, she had long curly red hair and chocolate brown eyes, she was just like Sophia in every way. This was the Queen Lamia. _

"_Father, you sent for us"? Nadir claimed his hand over his heart as he knelt_

"_Rise my children" He commanded _

_They both did what they were told and both climbed onto the dais, Nadir stood on the right of his father where the heir always stood. Sophia on the other hand went to the left and stood next to her mother as was expected from the younger of the royal children._

_They heard shouting as the great golden gates of the city opened and in came thirty elves all dressed in silver robes and wearing silver cloaks. Each one held a bow and had a quiver on their backs full of arrows, leading this party was a male Elf who had long blonde hair and a blonde beard to match. Next to him was a red fox that kept glancing behind him where two boys who only looked about sixteen and fourteen were being pushed forward, their hands were bound and the younger two had a red mark on his cheek probably from an Elvish hand. _

_The man and the fox bowed before the king, Valor though did not look at them at first instead his attention was on the two boys who looked like they may have come from Archenland. Finally his attention turned to the man and fox kneeling on the ground beneath him. _

"_Rise Hrofler" Valor commanded _

_The man rose from the ground and stood in front of the king, the fox remained bowing as best as he could waiting for the command of his king to rise as well. Valor looked at fox curiously and then to the boys, finally his face relaxed. _

"_You may rise as well Ignis" Valor said with a small smile_

_Ignis the fox rose and nodded his thanks to the king. The king's attention then fell on the two boys again as did the rest of the royal family, Sophia noticed that the older one of the boys was quite handsome he had brown hair that was quite long but not as long as her brother's or father's. As she looked at him she noticed that he had bright green eyes which sparkled in the many magical lights from the city, his eyes looked at her and she quickly turned her attention to the younger one. He was also quite handsome however his hair was ginger and had dark brown eyes similar to her own instead of the bright green of his companion. _

"_Why did you enter our domain"? Valor demanded _

"_What's it to you"? The younger one answered _

_The older one glared at him and shook his head. The younger one glared back but did not say anything in return, Sophia guessed this was a normal thing for the pair of them and she wondered if they were related in some way._

"_How dare you speak to the King of Elvenden in such a disrespectable way" Nadir spat_

"_Peace my son, we must find out what their purpose is" Valor said in Elfish so the boys wouldn't understand them. _

"_I apologise for my brother's rudeness Lord King" the older one said bowing his head_

"_I'll ask again, why did you enter our domain". _

"_We were only exploring the western wild, we did not realise your country existed until we were captured" the older one explained. _

"_What is your name boy"? Nadir asked coldly _

"_My name is William Harkett, this is my younger brother George" the boy answered nodding to the other boy. _

"_Well William, I will speak to you two alone" Valor said rising from his throne and gesturing two Elves to follow him with William and George._

* * *

_Almost Ten years later William was the Guardian and High Protector of Narnia. He was a great friend to the Elves and was considered and honorary citizen of Elvenden, Ignis had already struck a friendship with him and had already moved to Cair Paravel to serve him. Sophia had also become good friends with him, after their capture William and George were forced to stay a few months with them. During that time Sophia had taught William the Elfish language and their customs, she slowly found herself enjoying his company over the years and was always happy when he came to visit or she was permitted to visit Narnia by her father. _

"_My King" Esir said running to the Dais where King Valor sat on his silver throne_

"_What is wrong Esir"? Valor asked concerned _

"_Sir William is at the gates, he demands an audience with you" Esir informed_

"_Let him in, I will always give audience to the Phoenix of Narnia" Valor replied _

_A couple of minuets later, William had ridden up to the dais on a white horse. Valor smiled and welcomed him but then noticed William had a look of fury and desperation on his face. _

"_My Lord William, what is the matter"? _

_William dismounted from his horse and dropped to his knees. Excalibur was sheathed at his hip as always, but his actions caused a crowd to gather and soon mostly every Elf in the city including Sophia and Nadir had come to see what William was here for. _

"_King Valor, for these past ten years you have been a great friend to me. But now I need you more than ever, I am on my knees begging you great king I need your help" William announced his voice cracking due to stress. _

"_William I will do what I can to help you, what is it you need"?_

"_War has come to Narnia; George has betrayed me and joined the witch Jadis. She is luring more Narnians to her cause I cannot fight them alone, I beg you for the support of your armies" _

_Valor was quiet at that, there was a lot of murmuring from the crowd but William ignored them. He glanced at Sophia who gave him a small smile, but he did not return it. Valor sighed in the throne and William took that as a bad sign._

"_What part does Archenland play in this war"? Valor asked _

"_King Olvin has told me he won't support me, he says that he would not be comfortable fighting in a civil war" William answered gravely _

"_William I am sorry to say this I truly am, but you know our ways we refuse to get into outsider affairs unless they affect our own country" Valor explained_

"_Please I am begging you, if you refuse me I am alone in this fight you are the last one's I can call for aid" William begged_

"_I am sorry William my answer is no"_

* * *

_That was the last time Sophia ever saw William again, the last they heard William had lost the war and Jadis was the new queen of Narnia. However years past and soon they had heard stories of the white witch's fall and the crowning of the four Pevensie's, they also heard of their disappearance and the approach of a new threat. _

_The Telmarines of the country Telmar were marching east towards Narnia, however for them to do that they must first pass through Elvenden. _

"_Archers Release Arrows"! Ordered Hrofler_

_Many archers standing on a rope bridge among the trees fired volley after volley of arrows towards the Telmarines. King Valor and Prince Nadir lead the Elves in battling the soldiers on the ground, Sophia on the other hand was forced to flee with her mother but the Telmarines were advancing too fast for the Elves to handle. _

"_Come on Sophia, keep up" Lamia snapped _

_Sophia was running through many ranks of Elves trying to follow her mother to safety, however Telmarine archers had began to fire and many arrows started landing in the Elf ranks causing many of the Elves to slowly evaporate into dust which is what happened to an Elf when they died. _

_Sophia collapsed on the floor and lost sight of her mother, she ran for cover behind one of the many trees and saw many Elves being overwhelmed by the Telmarines. An arrow landed just above her head and she screamed as Telmarines charged towards her, but just when they were close Nadir came out of nowhere with his twin swords and began cutting down any Telmarine that came near them. _

"_Sophia run, you need to find mother" Nadir shouted over the many screams of the Telmarines he was easily killing. _

_Sophia ran but as she ran from the tree she saw a horrible sight, there sitting in his throne with a spear in his torso was her father. She was frozen in fear and watched as a Telmarine who could only be the King Caspian of Telmar stood over her father and finished him off by sticking his sword into his heart. _

_Sophia screamed in horror as she watched her father slowly change into dust and fly away with the wind. Suddenly she was grabbed on the arm by Nadir who was still fighting passionately keeping the vow of defending the city to the last._

"_Sophia get out of here and head for Narnia" Nadir ordered _

"_But what about you"? Sophia asked distraught_

"_I have to defend the city" Nadir replied _

"_Nadir no you'll die, please flee with me" Sophia begged pulling his arm_

"_I cannot I have to hold them off, here take these" Nadir said handing her his twin swords_

"_Nadir I cannot take these" Sophia exclaimed_

"_You must now go" Nadir ordered as he picked up a spear from the floor and started running towards where the last of the Elves fighting were. The city was now on fire and Sophia cried as she watched her home slowly being destroyed, she cried even more at Nadir's running form as he approached the Telmarines._

_She screamed as she saw him cut down by many Telmarines and he looked at her one last time before he too turned to dust. She remembered his warning and ran towards the city gates, she passed the gates and saw no guards, they were all dead or dying with the city. _

_She gave one look at her home and then ran into the woods, she cried out her grief and wondered what she would do now. Her brother had told her to go to Narnia but William was no longer there who would she turn to for help, she stopped where she was and collapsed on the ground with grief. _

"_Do not cry Princess, for I shall guide you" a voice said _

_Sophia raised her head and looked around but couldn't see anyone there, then suddenly there came a bright golden light and from that light came a huge lion. Sophia reacted instinctively, she screamed and tried to run but the lion just leapt over her and landed in front. _

"_Relax Princess of Elvenden, I will not harm you" the lion said_

_Sophia froze and tried to scream again but she could not. However she stared at the lion and noticed he gave off an eerie gold light, she relaxed a bit and felt safe in his presence she knew then that this was not an ordinary lion._

"_Aslan"? She asked _

"_Yes child that is me" he answered with a chuckle_

"_Why couldn't you come earlier and save my people"? She demanded _

"_All things have their time princess, it is the end for the Elves but not for you" Aslan answered._

_Sophia was shocked at that, she kneeled down and thought about how her people were just suddenly wiped out. She glared at Aslan but as soon as she did she regretted it, after all she had heard the stories about him he could not help everyone; but he could still help her._

"_What do you want of me"? She asked_

"_I need you to leave this world behind and travel to a new world, there you must wait until an old friend will come to you" Aslan explained _

_Before Sophia could question his instructions, he gave a mighty roar into the air. Suddenly she felt the wind pick up, she slowly started to drift up into the air she screamed and looked at Aslan who gave her a smile that showed that this was his doing and that she was safe. _

_She floated higher and higher and was soon past the clouds, Aslan had disappeared with the rest of the land. She wondered how high she was going to go then she suddenly dropped, she screamed her lungs out as she fell through the sky. She saw the ground coming closer and closer, however when she was about to hit the ground she suddenly stopped and then dropped onto grass. _

_She spat grass out of her mouth and looked up see that she was by some woods. She could tell she wasn't in Elvenden anymore as the woods looked far less magical then the forests she grew up in. Suddenly she heard footsteps and a man emerged from the trees, he looked to be in his forties and dressed in weird clothing._

"_Are you alright, I saw you falling" the man gasped_

"_I am fine thank you" Sophia replied defensively_

"_What's your name young lady"? The man asked _

"_Sophia and may I ask who you are"?_

"_My name is Digory Kirke" _

_Digory Kirke had allowed her to stay with him for many years, she waited and waited for that old friend to come for her but after twenty years she had given up hope. By that time she lived in her own cottage close to Digory, she had to move out of his house because as an Elf she did not age and people would notice. _

_But in 1949 she heard the news of Digory's death which saddened her; he was her only friend on Earth. However a year later she finally got the wish for another friend, there was a knock at her door and she slowly opened to reveal William. _

_He stood there in a long black cloak and smiled at seeing her again. They didn't speak, they just embraced each other, she invited him in and knew that Aslan's instructions had finally happened. William informed her that he needed her help with the quest Aslan had sent him on and she happily accepted she was glad that William was back and she wanted nothing more than to help him._

* * *

Susan couldn't believe what she had just heard; Sophia was an Elf and was also the princess of the elvish kingdom. She was also surprised to learn that she knew Professor Kirke and that he had helped her adapt to life in England.

"So, what do you think"? Sophia asked looking at her

"You are telling me the truth; you're not making any of this up"? Susan asked

"No I am not" Sophia replied offended.

Susan gave her an apologetic smile; however she didn't know what to believe anymore a few days ago she didn't believe in Narnia and magic, now she was having a conversation with an Elf.

Sophia could tell that Susan doubted her story, but every single word was true. She thought about William and the argument they had had, she wanted to make up with him but she didn't know if he wanted to.

Suddenly the lights in the room went out, Susan and Sophia both looked at each other in shock and confusion. They heard footsteps coming up the stairs and the door opened to reveal William holding Excalibur which glowed in the darkness as their only source of light, but his face revealed that something was wrong.

"William, what is it"? Sophia asked forgetting their fight from earlier.

"They're here" He replied.


	15. Home Invasion

Chapter 15

Home Invasion 

Sophia reacted fast and jumped off the bed; William ran over to the window and looked outside. What he saw made him worry even more; many soldiers of the cult were making their way through the garden heading towards the back door.

"Their surrounding us" William informed

"What do we do"? Sophia asked drawing her twin swords from their sheaths on the bed.

William didn't answer he ran out of the room and to the top of the stairs, he stared at the front door and came to a decision. He ran back into the bedroom where he had left them.

"William, what are we going to do"? Susan asked him desperately

"You two need to go find a way to get to the car" William answered

"How are we going to do that if were surrounded"?

"I am going make a stand against them, when they're too busy fighting me you should be able to make it to the car" William explained.

Susan and Sophia both stared at him disbelief, Susan couldn't believe what he was saying he was going to risk his life by fighting all of those soldiers himself when her and Sophia ran for their lives.

"No William, you can't fight them all by yourself" Susan said forcefully

"I have to Susan, if it means you and Sophia are safe then I have to" William replied.

* * *

The soldiers slowly surrounded the house waiting for the order to be given. They were all armed with swords, knives and axes; all of which had been given to them by Father McGuiness. The power had been cut which meant all of the lights were out; the soldiers were getting anxious nobody made a sound until a car pulled up on the kerb outside the house.

"My Lord" one of the soldiers said as Father McGuiness exited the car.

"Have you cut the power"? He asked

"Yes my lord" the soldier answered

"Good, now on my signal you will enter the house"

"Yes my lord" the soldier repeated nodding

"And everyone in that house is to be spared; if anyone kills the people in that house they will have our master to answer to" Father McGuiness whispered forcefully

"As you wish my lord" the soldier said before running back to the rest to relay the orders he had been given.

Father McGuiness stood there watching the house, the thought of William being behind those doors made him smile finally after years of waiting he would now get his revenge against the man who ruined his life.

"My lord, are we going to enter"? Quigley asked coming to stand beside him

"Yes Quigley, it is time" Father McGuiness replied quietly

He then nodded his head to the lead soldier who nodded back in reply; he then motioned for the soldiers to follow him. He reached the front door and gave one last look at Father McGuiness before he booted the door causing it to open.

* * *

The sound of the door being forced open caused the three of them to jump, William ran outside and looked downstairs to see many soldiers entering the house; another bang told him that the back door had also been forced open.

"Sophia, get into the attic there is a window you climb out of" William whispered

Sophia nodded and motioned Susan to follow her; they passed William who still had a tight grip on Excalibur which glowed in the darkness. Susan walked passed him and felt guilty that her and Sophia were running away while William would stay and fight, he gave her a reassuring smile but it made her feel worse than better.

They heard a soldier say that he was going to check upstairs which caused William's smile to disappear, he whispered furiously at her to go but as she moved she tripped and fell face first on the floor.

"I found one"! The soldier shouted to the rest of the house

The sound of footsteps approached and Susan laid there frozen in fear, however William did not hesitate he jumped out from behind the wall and quickly disarmed the soldier of his sword, he then booted him in the chest causing him to tumble down the stairs and also cause some of the other soldiers to fall as well.

"Sophia get her out of here" William said

He then looked at Susan and gave her another reassuring smile, then slid down the banister giving a war cry all the way down. Susan was dragged up on her feet by Sophia and together they climbed the ladder to the attic and hopefully the ladder which would lead them to a way of escape.

* * *

William slid down the banister of the stairs and crashed into a soldier; he landed roughly and had to bring Excalibur up fast to stop an axe from carving in his skull. He saw that he was in a very serious situation, there were more soldiers than he expected and all he could do was aim Excalibur at any soldier he could see.

A soldier swung his sword at his torso and William had to react fast, he brought Excalibur up and blocked the strike he then hammered the soldier's sword and finally managed to disarm him and he then punched him in the face with the hilt of Excalibur causing the soldier to hit the floor unconscious.

"Get him and remember he mustn't be killed" a soldier shouted

William looked startled at that but didn't have time to try and figure out what it meant, he had more soldiers charging towards him and he had to defend himself no matter what. This meant he started slashing Excalibur at the soldiers some he managed to kill some before himself could be harmed.

However more soldiers rushed towards him and he was soon being pushed back into the kitchen. His back connected hard with the kitchen table as more and more soldiers filled into the kitchen, he dropped Excalibur on the floor causing the white glow to disappear. The room now had no light which meant that William could not see who was around him; he punched and kicked at anyone he felt and heard many shouts of pain which confirmed his punches connecting with their targets.

He managed to roll backwards and over the table landing on the other side, he heard the soldiers wrestling with each other trying to find him. He stood silent for a minute until he heard a voice from the soldiers shouting at them all.

"You idiots turn your torches on" the voice ordered.

Many beams of light appeared in the kitchen, William sighed as all the torches found him. He stood there staring at all of them, he took one step forward and all of the soldiers charged at him. He found himself being pushed into the cupboards and was then punched and kicked repeatedly causing him to fall to the floor; the soldiers grabbed him and pulled him to his knees.

"You're a tough one" one of the soldiers said

William didn't answer he tried thinking of a way out of there, but as much as he thought he couldn't figure out an escape plan. He looked at the soldiers around him and prayed to Aslan that Sophia and Susan had managed to get out unharmed.

* * *

The attic was dusty and smelt horrible as Susan and Sophia climbed into it, Sophia shut the door behind her and then locked it. They slowly moved over to the window and looked outside, they saw a car and a truck parked up outside the house but there didn't seem to be anyone out there.

They heard shouts and banging coming from downstairs and both of them knew that was William fighting hard. Sophia was smiling at the thought of William battling those soldiers but Susan could not help but be worried.

"Are you sure he'll be alright"? She asked.

"William can take care of himself" Sophia replied smiling

She then moved over to the window and slowly opened it; she then climbed up on the windowsill and started to climb outside. Susan made her way over to the window and glanced at the ground which was a bit of a far way down. Sophia gave her a reassuring smile and Susan returned it awkwardly, Sophia managed to pull herself up onto the roof. Once she was up she grabbed Susan's hands and pulled her up as well.

"Now what"? Susan asked

"We'll have to use the guttering to climb down" Sophia said pointing top the guttering and the shoot which was linked to it.

Sophia went first and slowly started to climb down, she made it look easy but Susan was sure she would struggle. She started to climb down the shoot and made sure her feet stayed on the wall of the house, they both made sure to keep clear from the windows as they didn't know where the soldiers were and what was happening inside the house.

They both continued to slowly lower themselves down, Susan couldn't believe what she was doing she was never the adventurer type she had always tried to be the sensible one in the family, the one taming the wild spirits of her siblings.

Finally both of them reached the ground and started heading to the car which was parked in the driveway. Sophia opened the door to the driver's seat and jumped in, Susan opened the door on the opposite side but before she could climb in fully she was grabbed by someone and pulled back onto the ground.

Susan landed roughly and looked up into the face of a small balding man; he had a dagger in his hand and gave a nasty smile.

"I have her" he shouted gleefully

He continued to laugh until he was kicked in the side of the head by Sophia; she helped Susan back to their feet and looked at the man who was rolling around on the floor in agony.

* * *

William was still fighting; he threw punches and kicks at anyone holding a torch. He knew he had to find a way out of there, his brain kept thinking and thinking until finally he knew what he could do. He started fighting harder and more aggressive, he pushed his way over the table and grabbed Excalibur from the floor; the blade glowed in the hand of its rightful wielder and he ran out into the foyer of the house.

He was followed by the remaining soldiers, but as he reached the foyer he found a man dressed in black blocking his path. The man wore a hood and carried a sword with a black blade, William didn't know who he was but he was frightened.

The hooded man suddenly moved quick and brought his black sword down upon William, he reacted and managed to get Excalibur up in time. However as soon as the blades touched each other sparks shot out from both of them, the swords connected again and William could tell this person was a master of the sword.

William tried to disarm him by using a move that Wulfric had taught him, he twisted his blade around and put pressure on the man's sword arm. However the man suddenly stepped into him and twisted the blades around again, William gasped in surprise and his guard faltered. The man's sword slipped past his and landed in William's shoulder. He shouted in pain and fell back against the wall; he heard the man chuckling and felt his blood flowing down his arm.

He knew he had to find a way to escape but he couldn't think properly with this sword in his shoulder. He searched around the hallway and saw that he was sitting next to a radiator, he managed grab the hilt of the man's sword and pulled causing the man to come closer and caused even more pain but he gritted his teeth and with one great swing he slashed Excalibur at the radiator which connected and suddenly the steam from the radiator burst into the man's face causing him to yell in pain and fall to the floor.

The soldiers from before all came running towards him, William quickly pulled the sword from his shoulder and threw it away. He managed to get back to his feet and run towards the sitting room, he stopped in front of the fireplace and stood facing the soldiers. They cornered him and started getting ready to lunge at him again, but William was prepared with another swing of Excalibur William slashed the fireplace causing gas to slowly start filling the room.

William then managed to push his way through the distracted soldiers and out of the front door. He ran up the path ignoring the blinding agony from his injured shoulder, the hooded man came stumbling out of the house with his black sword and started trying to follow him.

The soldiers in the sitting room all started to shake off the effects of the fight and start heading towards the door. Unfortunately none of them noticed the candle flickering on the table and failed to pick up on the smell of gas.

* * *

Sophia and Susan were waiting in the car they had parked across the street, when they saw the front door open and William run out carrying Excalibur. He ran down the path towards the street and was followed by a hooded man stumbling out of the house holding a sword with a black blade.

Sophia started the car and Susan opened the door to the back seat, Sophia swung the car around and stopped in front of the house. They shouted for William to hurry up and were then silenced when the house exploded in front of them, they ducked for cover in the car and both William and the hooded man hit the floor.

William looked back at the ruined house and gave a small smile, then picked himself up and ran towards the car. He dived into the open back seat and as soon as he did Sophia hit her foot on the pedal and the car sped off down the street.

"Are you Crazy"! Sophia shouted

"I was out of ideas" William mumbled in reply causing Susan to give a small laugh, Sophia also gave a small smile at that and then continued driving.

"William, your hurt" Susan said pointing to his shoulder

"Don't worry about that, it's not bad" he lied holding his shoulder and blocking it from view.

"Where do we go now"? Sophia asked

"The message that George gave me said that we might find what were looking for in Westminister, so we head for Westminister" William answered.

Sophia nodded at that and prepared herself for the drive to Central London where more danger would probably await them.

* * *

Father McGuiness laid face down in the grass, he pulled back the hood he was wearing and gasped in pain. His whole body ached; he cursed William for being too smart for his own good. He ears were ringing and his vision was blurry, he clumsily made his way back to his feet and looked around the garden. The Whole house was destroyed and rubble was everywhere, he noticed that people were starting to gather and he hastily put his hood back up and started making his way to the back fence.

He was nearly there when he heard a voice groaning for help, he removed some rubble from the ground and found Quigley buried beneath it. He was bleeding from his head and also had a black eye that looked like it had come from a kick, Father McGuiness wasted no time he dragged Quigley onto his feet and managed to kick his way through the back fence.

He had to get out of there before the Police arrived; he cursed himself for failing again and was frightened at what punishment he would receive from his master.


	16. The Riverbank

Chapter 16

The Riverbank 

The car drove along the roads, the trio inside hardly spoke. Susan was fast asleep in the back seat and William smiled as he watched her, he missed her greatly and it really did pain him when she couldn't remember him or their time in Narnia together.

William's hand went to his shoulder where blood was still dripping out, he gasped in pain but unfortunately it wasn't missed by Sophia who was driving.

"You're shoulder again"? She asked

"Its fine, nothing to worry about" William muttered in reply

"Don't give me that, I know you William" Sophia said firmly

William sighed at that, he then looked back at Susan quickly making sure she was still asleep before he turned back to Sophia.

"The man who wore the hood, he was one of the best swordsmen I've ever fought against" he said

"Did you see his face"? Sophia asked

"No but there was something else, he managed to counter one of my moves and there was only one person who I ever taught that counter to" William explained

"You don't mean" Sophia began

"I'm not sure" William interrupted

"Come on William, he's dead you killed him remember" Sophia replied giving him a reassuring smile.

"We never actually saw his body" William reminded grimly

Suddenly they heard movement behind them and Susan slowly opened her eyes and stretched a little. She smiled to the pair of them and they both returned one of their own, she sat forward a little so she was closer to them and looked out of the window.

"Are we nearly there"?

"Almost" Sophia replied

Susan nodded at that and then turned to William, her eyes fell on his shoulder where a big red patch could be seen on his shirt. William's emerald green eyes found her ocean blue one's and she immediately turned away blushing, even when he was covered in mud, dust and blood he could still make her feel weird.

"Were here" Sophia announced happily as she squinted through the rain soaked windscreen to see the River Thames running below them and the outline of a great golden palace which shone in the darkness, The Houses of Parliament.

* * *

Father McGuiness and Quigley were both kneeling in the circular room below the church, they shook with fear as a cold wind swept around them and high cold scream echoed all around them. Father McGuiness held his hands tight praying for forgiveness while Quigley kneeled biting his nails and crying.

"How could you of lost them again"? The voice roared

Both them gasped in pain as they felt something sharp scrape their face leaving three large gashes in their cheeks. Quigley's sobs could be heard and that seemed to infuriate the voice even more, an unseen force lifted up Quigley and threw him across the chamber and he landed hard and remained motionless.

"I am weakening" the voice said

"Master"? McGuiness asked a little confused

"You need to find those items, then I will able to walk the Earth properly" The voice ordered

"But Master, what about William and Queen Susan"? Father McGuiness asked

"Forget about them, you're hatred of the Phoenix has blinded you" The voice yelled

Father McGuiness shook even more on the floor, he thought about what his master had said was his hatred of William blinding him? He did want to kill William and have his revenge but he didn't think it had become his primary objective.

"I will find the items master" He said bowing his head

"You will, otherwise you will experience how much pain I can give out" the voice said coldly

The temperature in the room rose and the voice disappeared, Father McGuiness sat there for a few minuets still shaking and worrying about his masters warning. He heard groaning behind him and he knew that Quigley was waking up; he slowly rose back to his feet and made his way over to where Quigley was lying on the ground.

"Get up Quigley" He commanded kicking the small man in the side a few times

Quigley groaned even more and was then dragged back to his feet by Father McGuiness; he once again started to cry but was slapped by McGuiness who had a look of fury on his face.

"Pull yourself together, we have work to do"

* * *

Sophia stopped the car just above the river; one by one they stepped out of the car and looked down at the cold icy waters below. They looked at one another before William walked over to the trunk of the car and opened it up, inside was a beautifully carved chest William opened it and blocked it's contents from Susan, he chucked her a dagger just in case there was danger then shut it quickly.

Susan was about to question his suspicious behaviour when William started to head down the stone stairs to the river bank. Sophia gave Susan a reassuring smile and together they followed William down the stairs.

When they arrived on the river bank it was misty and very cold, William stood still staring through the mist. He was gripping Excalibur so hard that his knuckles were turning white; he pointed the glowing sword at the mist and tried to see what was in front of him.

"Where do we go"? Sophia asked whispering

"We should split up, I'll go right you two go left" William said

"So what are we looking for exactly"? Susan asked

"I'm not sure, just look for something that might seem unusual" William explained

William then smiled at the pair of them before he disappeared through the mist. Sophia sighed and then started walking in the opposite direction; Susan followed but looked back through the mist and hoped that William would be okay.

* * *

William slowly walked down the bank of the river, he held Excalibur up in front of him so he could see what was in front of him. He heard the horns of some boats coming down the river and heard the cars going across the many bridges of the river but apart from that there were no other sounds.

His shoulder was hurting more and more and he had to grit his teeth the more painful it became. He continued to slowly walk down the bank but he could not see anyone else and he wondered what the message George had brought had meant something else.

He looked at the cold waters of the Thames and wondered if Sophia was right about him forgiving George for his betrayal. As he stood there thinking about it a memory entered his mind which made tears form in his eyes.

"_You'll be safe here" he said looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, her hair was golden blonde and her eyes were a bright blue. Her stomach was big which showed that she was with child and William thought she still looked as beautiful as the first day he laid eyes on her. _

"_Are you sure"? Swanwhite asked him looking around the cosy cave where she now sat_

"_Yes, I have used this cave many times nobody will find you here" he answered smiling._

_She watched him as he slowly strapped on his silver armour, it had been made for him by the dwarves and as she looked at it she still admired the beautiful work and even more the golden lion which was on the chest. He picked up Excalibur and put it into the sheath on his hip. _

"_It's almost dawn the army will be waiting" Swanwhite said _

_William nodded and then walked forward and kneeled down in front of her so her eyes were level with his. She stared deeply into them and she knew he was still the sixteen year old boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago. _

"_I will come back" William said looking straight into his eyes_

"_I know you will, but what will you do if you find George"? She asked _

"_He betrayed me, Narnia and Aslan; he went back on the oath he took when he was knighted so I will do what I must" William replied _

_She nodded at that and then pulled his face to hers where their lips met. He held her and kissed her with so much passion that he didn't want to stop, they slowly parted and Swanwhite grabbed his hand and put his hand to her stomach where he could feel the baby kicking inside her. _

"_You make sure you come back, not just for me but for your child as well" She said firmly_

"_I will, I promise" he replied_

"_Boy or Girl it will have your strength and your courage" _

"_Hopefully it will have the strength and courage of its mother" he said smiling_

_She smiled at that and kissed him again, she then gave him a massive hug and prayed to Aslan for his safe return. She had seen him ride off to battle many times but she never felt more frightened for his safety then she did now, he gave her one last kiss before he rose to his feet and headed to the entrance of the cave. _

"_I love you" he said looking back at her from the entrance_

"_I love you too" she replied_

_He then left the cave and climbed on his white horse which waited for him; he stared at the cave and couldn't will himself to leave. _

"_She'll be fine my lord" said Farah the horse _

"_I hope so" he replied _

_He then turned around and headed back towards the army and the battle that awaited him and he begged Aslan to keep Swanwhite safe. _

Tears fell from his eyes at that memory, he still felt guilty for leaving her and he knew that he fell in love again with Susan but he still couldn't forget the wife and child he buried.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked out across the waters and then up at the Houses of Parliament where his father used to work. He smiled at the old memories of his life before Narnia; however he heard screams in the distance and immediately started to run towards them he could not let anything happen to Susan and Sophia.

* * *

The girls were walking down the bank, Susan held the dagger that William had given her and wondered if she would actually use it if something did happen. Sophia held the handles of her twin swords which were sheathed at her sides, they walked in silence but as they were walking they could hear something in the distance like some kind of chanting.

They looked at each other and then slowly approached the noise; they walked through the mist and saw a light ahead of them. They walked with caution and saw that the source of light was a fire that had been lit; they saw somebody dancing around the fire and chanting something in a language that neither of them understood.

"Hello" Sophia called

The figure stopped and turned around to face them, he stood still as statue. The man looked old he had a long grey beard and looked bizarre he wore a blue frock coat and medieval looking tights, he was barefoot and wore a top hat on his head and the weirdest thing was that he carried a wooden looking staff in his right hand.

"Hello" Sophia repeated

The man didn't reply he just charged straight at them, they both screamed as he swung his staff at Sophia's head. She ducked and rolled out of the way, she then drew her twin swords ready for a fight. The man's staff then started to glow blue, he charged again and his staff met Sophia's twin swords which caused sparks to erupt from the staff.

He hammered his staff down upon Sophia's twin swords, he used so much force that the sword in her left hand went flying from her hand. Susan was rooted in shock, she saw Sophia push back against his staff and swung her remaining sword at his head; he however ducked and swung his staff which connected with Sophia's legs sending her flying in the air and landing on her back.

He lifted his staff up and went to hit Sophia on the ground, however she rolled out of the way and the staff hit the ground causing more sparks to shoot from it. She raised her sword but the man pointed his staff at it and a ball of blue light burst from the top of it and connected with the sword sending it flying from Sophia's hand.

Susan then ran at him with the dagger raised but he fired another ball of light which connected with her chest and sent her backwards causing her to land hard on the ground.

"Susan"! Sophia shouted

The man turned and pointed his staff at Sophia, another ball of light fired from the staff. However just as it was about to hit Sophia a glowing white sword appeared in front of her and absorbed the light.

Sophia looked up to see William standing there holding Excalibur, the man fired another ball of light at him but Excalibur absorbed it as well. More balls of light were fired at William but he used Excalibur to deflect every one of them, finally the man had had enough and charged at William.

The staff and Excalibur clashed and sparks shot from both of them, William swung hard brining the glowing sword down with strength. The man blocked it and then spun around with a surprising amount of speed and agility and hit his staff right in William's wounded shoulder.

William screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, Excalibur dropped to the floor its glow disappearing. The man was about to strike William, but he held his hands up in surrender causing the man to stop and look at him in wonder.

"Nemen, don't do it its me William"

"William"? The man said in a low booming voice

"Yes, William we met in Narnia remember" he replied

"Of course, the Phoenix"! The man shouted

"Yes, that's me" William said giving a sigh of relief.

Nemen then looked from William to Sophia and then Susan who was still lying on the floor. He put his staff down and looked at William, he offered him his staff and William happily took it and was pulled back to his feet.

"Let's take a look at that shoulder" Nemen said smiling


	17. Locations

Chapter 17

Locations

William wondered over to Susan and checked for any signs of injury, luckily she did not seem to be hurt. He gently splashed some water from the river over her face and she immediately opened her eyes, she groaned in pain and groggily sat up.

"Susan are you alright"? William asked concerned

"Yes" Susan muttered

"I do apologise for that, I don't take too kindly to strangers" Nemen said

"We noticed" Sophia mumbled rubbing her back

William helped Susan to her feet and together they moved over to where Nemen was sat in front of the fire. Sophia sat down as well giving a dark look to Nemen who seemed quite cheerful even though he had just attacked them.

"Now William come over here and let me have a look at that shoulder" Nemen instructed

William sat Susan down and then moved over to where Nemen sat, he kneeled down in front of him and gasped in pain when Nemen touched the wound with his hand. Nemen examined it and muttered to himself, William kept gasping in pain and wished that Nemen would just stop.

Nemen carefully helped William remove his shirt and Susan had to turn away blushing at seeing William's body, Sophia also blushed a little as well but William was in too much pain to notice the reaction he was causing. However although Susan was becoming aroused with the muscles that were on show, Susan also had to grimace at some of the scars that appeared on his body; especially the ones she could see on his back.

"Ouch" he yelled

"Stay still" Nemen ordered

William growled as Nemen continued to touch the wound, he started muttering in a weird language and closed his eyes. A blue light appeared over the wound and when it disappeared the wound was nothing but a scratch, Susan and Sophia both stared at it in wonder but William just sighed in relief.

"Thank you" he said happily

"Your welcome" Nemen replied smiling

William put his shirt back on and sat back down, Nemen put a little bit more wood on the fire and then smiled at the trio. William looked up at the sky and saw that there were no stars, he looked at worried at that and Susan couldn't understand why.

"Now William, what do I owe this pleasure"? Nemen asked

"We come to ask about the whereabouts of the items used to transport people to Narnia" William answered

"Are you referring to the wardrobe, the rings, the horn and the painting"?

"Yes are they on Earth"?

Nemen was quiet at that, he stared into the fire and then like William did he looked up into the sky and sighed in worry. William waited patiently and Nemen finally tore himself away from the sky and looked at William's emerald green eyes which glowed in the firelight.

"Dark times are happening, Tash is slowly approaching Earth" Nemen informed

"We know, that's why we need the items" Sophia said

"Those items are powerful objects Princess Sophia of Elvenden and are not to be underestimated" Nemen replied looking at her

"How do you know who I am"? Sophia asked startled

"Yes William the items are on Earth" Nemen said ignoring Sophia's question

"Do you know where"? Susan asked

"Patience Queen Susan the Gentle"

Susan was startled at that, William had said he had a lot of knowledge but she never expected him to know her name when they had never met before. She looked up at the sky and saw that the stars were truly covered by big dark clouds, in that moment she understood what William and Nemen had seen darkness was approaching.

* * *

Father McGuiness was standing in the bell tower of the church, the rain was hammering down in Finchley but all McGuiness was focused on was the dark clouds that seemed to be forming over the church. Slowly his master was getting stronger and more powerful, a thought that frightened him.

"My Lord" said a small voice

McGuiness turned to see Quigley slowly climbing the steps; he had bandages over his cheeks covering the gashes Tash had left there in his anger. Father McGuiness however showed no sympathy it angered him that he could not find the items with all these idiot people that were under his command.

"What is it Quigley"? Father McGuiness sighed

"Our scouts have reported that Sir William and Queen Susan have left Finchley" Quigley mumbled

"What"?! Father McGuiness roared

He then grabbed Quigley by the throat and pushed him into the hard brick wall of the tower, Quigley squealed in fear and groaned in pain. Father McGuiness had fury in his eyes, William was up to something but he didn't know what and that was torture to him.

"Quigley I want you to find them and I want to know what they're up to, if they find an item before we do I will cut off your head and spear it to the church doors"!

He then let go of Quigley who scurried down the stairs, once again leaving McGuiness looking out over the rain soaked Finchley and wishing for his revenge against William and more importantly the location of all the items.

* * *

"The five items have all been scattered, some of them you know" Nemen explained

"What do you mean"? William asked

"Well if you want to find the painting then you must go to the Queen's aunt and uncles" Nemen instructed

William and Susan both looked at each other, they had known that the painting was in Cambridge but they had put off going because of the cult and they were afraid the cult would follow them and put her aunt and uncle in danger.

"Do you know where the others are"?

"Only two I'm afraid" Nemen answered

"That's good" Sophia said

Nemen gave a small smile at that, he had deep grey eyes which showed his wisdom and his knowledge however William noticed that he looked somehow older and more stressed since the last time they had met.

"Where are the two items Nemen"? William asked

"The horn is in the British Museum"

"And the second, is it the painting"? Susan asked anxiously

"No I cannot be sure where the painting is it might be in Cambridge but it might not I cannot be sure"

"So what is the other item"? Sophia asked

"The rings Princess, the rings" said Nemen

"Where are they"?

"They are in a Police Station in Finchley"

The three of them were silent at that and looked at each other with worried looks on their faces. All of them were thinking the same thing, how were they supposed to get the rings if they were in a police station.

"How are we going to get it now"? Sophia asked voicing their worries

"I'm not sure" William replied solemnly

They all sat there in silence, they could hear the horns of boats sounding on the river and the chimes of Big Ben in the distance. Susan was wondering how everything had gotten to this they had blown up a house and had killed people, this was definitely not the adventure she was expecting.

"How come the Police have ended up with the rings"? Sophia asked Nemen

"Well I believe that the train accident that happened in Finchley was a big mess, so in the confusion I think the Police made a mistake and thought the rings belonged to somebody else who perished in the crash" explained Nemen

"But they were on my brothers at that time" Susan replied looking shocked and upset

"I know that your grace, but like I said the police made a mistake"

Susan shifted uncomfortably; she wasn't use to people calling her grace, highness and majesty. She kept trying to tell everyone that she wasn't a Queen but none listened. William noticed her awkward movement and gave her a sad look he wished she could just remember but it didn't seem like it was happening anytime soon.

* * *

Father McGuiness was once again sat in his office scribbling on my pieces of parchment, a candle flickered on his desk while the rain could be heard hammering down upon the windows. There came a soft knock on the door and Father McGuiness told the person to enter, the door slowly opened and Quigley stepped in.

"My Lord" Quigley said nervously

"Quigley I asked not to be disturbed" Father McGuiness snapped

"I know my lord, but we have found one of the items" Quigley squeaked

Father McGuiness suddenly sat up straight and stared right at Quigley, he then slowly got up from his chair and walked straight to where Quigley stood and grabbed the short man by the suit jacket he was wearing and pushed up against the wall where Quigley started to cower in fear.

"You had better be telling the truth Quigley" Father McGuiness growled

"I am my lord" Quigley replied desperately

"Then what item have you located"? Father McGuiness asked still keeping Quigley pinned against the wall.

"The painting my lord, it's in Cambridge with the Queen's aunt and uncle" Quigley answered shaking

Slowly Father McGuiness began to smile, he slowly released Quigley from the vice like grip he had on his jacket and returned to sitting behind his desk. Quigley stood in the middle in the office shaking with fear and waiting for further instructions.

"Quigley prepare the men, tell them were taking a little trip to Cambridge" Father McGuiness ordered with an evil smile on his lips.

* * *

William was standing on the banks of the Thames watching a couple of the boats he see sail past him. He was completely in his own world that he didn't even notice Susan come and stand beside him until she touched his shoulder and he spun round startled.

"Easy, it's just me" Susan raising her hands up

"Sorry, just been a rough couple of days" William said with a weak smile

"I know and it seems they will get even rougher" Susan said returning his smile

William nodded at that and turned back to the river, he wished that he was back in Narnia because although he was thrilled to be with Susan again even though she didn't remember him he still felt more comfortable in Narnia than on Earth because it was so much different then his time on Earth.

"You said that you knew Nemen in Narnia right"? Susan asked

"Yes I did"

"Why did you need him for"?

William sighed a little and thought about the memories that seemed to keep coming up lately, painful memories of his time with Swanwhite. He looked at Susan and thought that maybe talking about these memories will help a little.

"When I was in Narnia, I had a wife" William said

"Really"? Susan asked

"Yes her name was Swanwhite and she was the Queen of Narnia" William answered

"A Queen, impressive" Susan said smiling

William laughed at that, it seemed ages since had laughed properly and thanked Susan for her ability to make him laugh because during these dark times laughter was something really special.

"Anyway Swanwhite became ill, there was no cure that we could find she was dying" William explained

"What happened"?

"I went to Nemen for help, he told me that there was a legend about Aslan's pearl. He told me that this magical pearl had the power to cure people of illnesses and to make people immune from disease forever" said William

"So you went looking for this pearl"? Susan asked

"Yes and I found it after fighting off a dragon to get it" William replied

"A dragon"!?

"Yes a dragon, well I managed to get it to her in time and cure her" William said concluding the story.

Susan stood there in silence looking out over the river, William watched her he thought maybe he should of let out the part about the dragon but he knew that he had to try and getting her to believe in things like that again.

"Well at least he told us where we can face some of the items" She said eventually

"Yes looks like it's going to be tough" William replied

"Yes but I think we could pull it off" Susan said giving him a little smile

William returned her smile and together they both looked out across the river as very slowly the sun had started to rise above the city of London.


	18. Another Family Reunion

Chapter 18

Another Family Reunion

The beautiful sunrise was short lived as once again rain started to pummel London with shower after shower. William and Sophia packed the car up with fresh supplies such as clothes and food, all provided by Nemen.

"We can't thank you enough for your help" Susan said giving Nemen a smile

"Please don't mention it" Nemen replied retuning her smile

"I hope to see you again one day" said Susan

"Who knows what the future will bring Queen of Narnia, perhaps you will" Nemen answered cryptically

Susan gave a small smile at that, something told her she would never understand his meanings. William finished packing the car and then walked up to where Susan and Nemen stood; he smiled at Nemen and then held out his hand.

"Thank you my old friend" He said shaking his hand

"Your welcome, if you need anymore help I'll be there" Nemen replied smiling

"How will you know where to find us"? Sophia asked walking towards them

"Oh I have my ways Princess"

He then bid them a final goodbye before he turned and started walking down the riverbank where he slowly faded into the fog. The trio stood there for a minute before finally they all started heading towards the car and the next part of their journey that waited for them.

"Do you think the cult have found the locations of any of the items"? Susan asked William

"I don't know, the locations are hard to find but if they have found some then we're going to need some help" William replied solemnly

Susan nodded at that before she turned back to look at the portion of the city she could see, London was said to be one of the greatest cities in the world however the nightmare entered Susan's mind once again and she suddenly saw the city burning before her.

"Susan"? William's voice came from behind her

"Hmm" She answered shaking the vision of the burning city from her mind

"Are you alright"? William asked concerned

"Yes I'm fine" She said giving him a small smile

He returned a small smile of his own then motioned for her to get into the car, she headed to the car but stopped when she realised that William wasn't following her. Instead he stood where she had stood looking at the city before him; eventually he turned and walked back to the car. Susan understood what was going through his mind, if what everything that had been said is true then the trio had the world in their hands.

* * *

The soldiers piled into the two trucks that waited outside the church, guns could be heard getting loaded as well as the commands being shouted. Father McGuiness walked out of the church placing black leather gloves onto his hands, a long cloak trailed behind him and his black sword hung in its sheath at his hip.

"My Lord" a small voice sounded

Father McGuiness looked around to see Quigley running towards him, he was soaking wet from the never ending rain that seemed to plague London. He moved past the many soldiers that were running towards the trucks that awaited them, finally he reached the priest.

"What is it Quigley"? McGuiness asked impatiently

"Our scouts have found them, they were in Westminister but have now started heading towards Cambridge" Quigley informed

"Damn it, Quigley we must hurry" McGuiness said grabbing the short man by this soaking wet collar and dragged him towards the car that awaited them. McGuiness got into the back while Quigley got into the passenger seat at the front.

"To Cambridge and hurry otherwise you forfeit your life" McGuiness growled to the driver who began to drive through the streets of Finchley.

* * *

The rain smashed against the windscreen as William drove through London as fast he could the quicker they got out of the capital then the quicker they were getting to Cambridge and quicker to getting the painting.

"How long do you think it will take to get to Cambridge"? Susan asked from beside him

"A few hours" William mumbled

Susan gave a little nod and resumed looking at the wet and dismal view from the window, she could see St. Pauls Cathedral in the distance and even in the weather they were having it still looked marvellous, the amazing piece of architecture would impress anyone.

"What's that big dome thing"? Sophia asked

"That's St. Pauls Cathedral" Susan answered smiling

"Wow it is amazing, I never knew people could build such things" Sophia said stunned

William smiled and then turned back to the road where he saw a terrible looking creature standing in the middle of the road, he hit the brakes hard and the car came to a screeching halt. The girls screamed and William looked back to the road to see that there was nothing there, he stared at the place where the creature was and he didn't know what was going on he sword he saw it but he didn't know how it could of disappeared like that.

"William, what happened"? Sophia shouted from the back seat

"I thought I saw something" William mumbled

"Saw what William"? Susan asked panting

"I'm not sure"

Both of the girls looked at each other with worried looks, there was nothing to even suggest something was standing in the road and William seemed to be the only person that saw whatever it was, which caused the question did he actually see something or was it his imagination?

* * *

Father McGuiness remained silent as the car drove through the streets of Finchley; he looked at all the people who were hurrying to find shelter from the rain and at all the children who were playfully jumping in all the puddles. His face turned into a sneer as he watched them, humans were not an extraordinary race, they didn't even believe in magic they were so narrow minded it was unbelievable.

"Humans" He spat

"You do not like us my lord"? Quigley asked nervously

"What is to like, they are nothing but vermin" McGuiness answered

"There are some humans who are better than others my lord"

"Oh of course there are, I met one of them in Narnia he was brave, intelligent and everybody loved him; I was the only one who saw who he really was an untrustworthy man who put his own country at risk"

"Are you speaking about the Phoenix my Lord"?

"Yes the Phoenix" McGuiness spat

Quigley said no more and turned back to stare out of the windshield, he knew that McGuiness hated the Phoenix and he didn't want to be in the way when he finally got his revenge against him.

* * *

The trio were silent as they passed a sign saying Welcome to Cambridge, both of the girls were worried about William he was seeing things that weren't there and it frightened them. Maybe the stress of this quest was starting to play tricks on his mind.

William was also worried, there was something that he was afraid of and now with that creature appearing before him it had been confirmed. However he dared not to say anything to Susan and Sophia not yet anyway, he continued to drive through the city of Cambridge in silence only speaking to ask Susan directions to her aunt and uncles house.

"Here we are" Susan muttered as they finally pulled into a driveway to see a nice house sitting before them.

"Time to get out" Sophia said happily opening the door and exiting the car where she stretched from the amount time she had been sitting.

Susan however did not move she remained sitting in her seat staring up at the house where she could see the lights showing someone was home. However she could not just will herself to move and she knew it was because since the death of her family she hadn't really spoken to them and now she needed their help for this unbelievable adventure she had been drawn into.

"Susan are you okay"? William asked

"I don't know, it's harder than I expected" she answered still staring at the house

"Don't worry, it will be alright and I'll be there to help you through it" William said holding her hand and smiling at her

Susan smiled back as her stomach felt funny from his touch; they both exited the car and began to walk towards the house. Susan's feet felt heavy as she walked but William once again held her hand and began lead her to the house, she thanked him for his support and she had to admit that in that moment she didn't know what she would do without him.

They finally reached the front door where Susan rang the doorbell and waited with anticipation, finally the door opened and there stood quite a stern looking woman dressed in a simple pink dress and wearing a red cardigan. However as she looked at the three of them her stern look turned to confusion then finally to shock as her eyes rested on Susan.

"Hello Aunt Alberta" Susan said with a weak smile

Alberta said nothing; she just walked forward and pulled Susan into a tight hug as tears began to appear in her eyes. Susan hugged back just as tight, she admitted that when she was a child she was never fond of Aunt Alberta but now that her and Uncle Harold were her last remaining family she had a new found love for them.

"Susan, what are you doing here"? Alberta asked surprised

"I'm afraid that's a bit of a long story"

Footsteps were heard and a man appeared behind Alberta, he was quite old with a grey beard but it was well groomed. He stood there his eyes wide in shock, his mouth moved but no words seemed to come out, eventually he walked forward a little bit to stand next to Alberta.

"Susan" he finally whispered

"Hello Uncle Harold" Susan replied

Harold walked forward and pulled his niece into a warm hug, they stood there for a few minuets until finally they broke away where both them had wide smiles on their faces at seeing Susan.

"Who are your friends"? Alberta asked her eyes once again falling on William and Sophia who were standing silently watching the nice scene before them.

"William and Sophia" Susan answered

"Well it's lovely to meet you "Alberta said pleasantly

"You to Mrs. Scrubb" William responded

"Please come in"

William and Sophia both stepped into the house and were lead into the sitting room by Harold, they took a seat on the sofa and waited until Susan, Alberta and Harold had sat down as well.

"Now Please tell us why your here" Alberta said

"Okay get comfortable this is going to be difficult to explain"


	19. Convincing and Discoveries

Chapter 19

Convincing and Discoveries 

Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold sat there with shocked looks on their faces as Susan tried to explain what was happening to the best of her ability. William and Sophia also helped Susan whenever she got stuck but it seemed it was failing as slowly Alberta and Harold were starting look like they thought the trio was crazy.

"Let me get this straight, you expect us to believe that some kind of cult that worship a demon believe that there a four items can release him and that you are the only one that can stop because you and your siblings all went to a magical world" Alberta said slowly

"Well that's what they believe, not me" Susan answered

William and Sophia both exchanged looks, it seemed that Susan had not been totally convinced yet either. They both turned their attention back to her aunt and uncle who were both looking at them like it was their fault that their niece was saying these things.

"And you say that these two have both been to this make believe world as well" Harold said staring at William and Sophia with narrow eyes.

"I can assure you sir, Narnia did exist" William replied his emerald green eyes meeting Harold's.

"What do you mean by did"? Alberta asked

"Narnia was destroyed three years ago"

"How could a world be destroyed"? Asked Harold

William looked at Sophia and then at Susan, he did not know how to answer this question without making himself sound even more crazy. He finally decided to say that it was a long and complicated story which seemed to get him out of that situation.

"Susan will you please help me in the kitchen"? Alberta asked getting up from her seat and heading straight towards the kitchen.

Susan slowly got up and looked at William who gave her a reassuring smile, she then followed her aunt into the kitchen were she was making cups of tea for everyone. Susan slowly approached her and was immediately met with a look of disappointment which told Susan she was in for a serious talk.

* * *

Father McGuiness sat in his car slowly feeling the hilt of his sword and thinking about how much he would love to pierce William's heart with it. Quigley was fast asleep in the front which disgusted McGuiness; he hated humans and even having some work for him seemed to be depressing for him. To him they were nothing but a weak and flawed race and he knew that when his master was released he would easily turn this world into his in no time at all.

"How long until we reach our destination"? He asked the driver

"Only a couple of hours now" the driver replied

"Fine" McGuiness muttered in response

He looked back out of the window and thought about his time in Narnia; he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter as the memories of William entered his mind. For years he had had a burning hatred for William and it still existed, he was loyal to his master but at that moment his top priority was to finally kill the High Protector and make sure he stays dead.

* * *

"How well do you know those people"? Alberta demanded

"Well I only met them recently" mumbled Susan

"Then how can you trust them"!

"I don't know I just can" Susan argued

Alberta just shook her head as she made the tea; Susan stood there and understood why her aunt was finding this difficult. It's true she didn't really know William and Sophia but she just had a feeling which told her they could be trusted and that they were good people.

"Is it because you're attracted to him" Alberta suddenly said

"Attracted to whom"? Susan asked although aware of whom she was talking about

"Don't start with that, you know who" Alberta replied

Susan shook her head and turned away, she hadn't known William for that long so she couldn't have feelings for him. She peaked into the sitting room and saw William speaking to Uncle Harold, obviously he was trying to convince him about the threat of the cult but by the look on Harold's face it wasn't working.

"No I don't have any feelings for him"

"Well then why are you helping him"? Alberta asked desperately

"Because it just feels right, this cult is willing to kill people if they don't get those items"

"What are these items anyway"?

"Well one of them is the painting you have"

Alberta looked confused at that, she stirred the five cups of tea she had made and stared at the wall in deep thought. Susan waited patiently as her aunt done her thinking, eventually Alberta returned t Earth and looked at Susan in confusion.

"I'm sorry, which painting would that be"?

"The one you hang in the spare room, the one of the ocean" Susan described

"Oh that one, I believe its now up in the attic" informed Alberta

"You still have it"? Susan asked a smile appearing on her face

"Of course, I couldn't get rid of it Eustace loved that painting he used to love staring at it" She said tears begin to form in her eyes.

Susan place her hand on her aunt's shoulders, she knew it was hard for her she id bury her only son. Susan had always ignored what her aunt and uncle were going through due to the fact that she had lost her siblings in the train crash.

Her aunt pulled her into a hug and cried into her shoulder; Susan patted Alberta on the back and tried her best to comfort her. Eventually her tears began to stop and soon they were both speaking quietly again, Alberta managed to serve everyone tea and soon the day wore on.

The trio had not managed to convince Alberta and Harold; however they were invited to stay the night. So William and Sophia brought all the stuff out of the car and took upstairs to their respective rooms, Susan and Sophia were to sleep in Eustace's old room which had been kept the same since his death. William on the other hand was to sleep in the spare room where the painting used to hang.

As Susan was on her way to bed, Aunt Alberta called her into the sitting room for a quick talk. She was a little bit suspicious of what it would be about but she allowed herself to walk into the sitting room and take a seat on the sofa next to Alberta.

"Now about William" Alberta began

"Please Aunt Alberta, not this again" Susan begged

"I just feel that you need to know more about him, see if you can totally trust him" Alberta replied

Susan thought about that for a minute, true she didn't know everything about William but did that mean he was untrustworthy. She understood why her aunt was concerned for her safety, but she had never been afraid of William he had never done anything to hurt her he watched over and had saved her life already many times.

"I just feel like I can trust him" Susan said

"Okay but promise me one thing"

"Anything"

"Please speak to him, find out as much as you can about him" Alberta whispered looking straight into Susan's eyes.

"I promise" Susan responded

* * *

Susan knocked on the door to the room William was sleeping in but no answer came, she slowly turned the handle and opened the door. There was no sign of him in the room and she was about to leave when she spotted something by the bed, William's chest that he had brought with him from Finchley.

Curiosity got the better of her and she found herself slowly approaching the chest and opening it. What she found surprised her lot, William's sword was sheathed and was on top; she slowly moved it and put it on the floor next to the chest.

Next she saw a shield with a red lion engraved in the centre, that was on top of something wrapped in many blankets and seemed to weigh a lot. She also saw clothes that had been folded neatly, however some weird looking clothes that looked like they came from the medieval times were also in the chest.

She slowly started to move to the bottom and found a bow and a quiver of arrows; she looked at the quiver and stopped dead when she saw a silver S and P engraved on it. She slowly placed the bow and arrows down on the floor and was frightened at seeing her initials on the quiver, she could remember ever owning her own bow and arrows. She looked back into the chest and her eyes rested on a cordial with some kind of red liquid which gave off a weird smell which was very unique.

She looked further and found a small red box which rested on top of what seemed to be an old army uniform, she slowly opened the box to see a magnificent medal shining back at her. She knew from the lessons she had in school that this medal was the Victoria Cross; it was awarded to soldiers of the British Army who showed Valor and outstanding Courage in the face of the enemy.

She noticed a card was also in the box and she took out and began to read, the card looked quite dated and she wondered just how old it was.

_In response to his incredible display of Valor and his Extreme Courage during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle on the 12__th__ March 1915 it is my honour to award Sergeant William Harkett with the Victoria Cross and a Promotion to the rank of 2__nd__ Lieutenant. I hope that more soldiers have the bravery that Sergeant Harkett has displayed._

_Signed General Douglas Haig, Commander of the I Corps British Army _

Susan was shocked at what she just read; William Harkett was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during World War I. She heard the door close and turned around to see William standing there holding a something big wrapped in a package.

"Susan what are you doing"? William asked confused but then his eyes found all the stuff lying on the floor and the medal in her hands.

"Who are you"? Susan demanded

"What do you mean"?

"This says William Harkett was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in nineteen fifteen, that was during World War One and you are to young to be him so who are you"?

William was silent he placed whatever was in the package on the bed and then looked at Susan who was glaring at him with so much anger, William rang his hand through his hair nervously eventually he decided he had no option but to tell her.

"Susan that is me, I am William Harkett and I was born on the Sixth of May Eighteen Ninety Seven"

Susan sat there in shock at what she just heard; somehow everything had just become way more complicated.


	20. Old Friends

Chapter 20

Old Friends

"Please tell me you're joking" Susan said stunned

"I'm not joking Susan, it's the truth" William replied

Susan turned away from him and began shaking her head; she couldn't believe it William was born in 1897. She was so confused he was born during Victorian times but yet seemed to be twenty four in 1952.

"Susan I know this is a lot to take in, but please do not look at me different" William pleaded

"A lot to take in, William you should be in your fifties but you look like your in your twenties how do you explain that"? Susan demanded

"It's a long story" William muttered

"Tell me William now"!

William sighed and ran his hands through his hair, this was all happening to fast Susan was not supposed to know everything about him yet as she wasn't ready to believe everything entirely yet.

"Okay I was born in Eighteen Ninety Seven, according to my war records I was killed in action on the Thirteenth of October Nineteen Fifteen during the Battle of Loos in France" William explained

Susan gasped in shock; William was saying he was dead. She put her head in her hands and started shaking her head in disbelief. William said nothing he just waited in silence and watched her movements and reactions.

"William don't lie to me, there is no way you were born in Eighteen Ninety Seven and died in Nineteen Fifteen"

"It's the truth Susan, that's the date of my birth, my siblings were born a few years after me and my parents died on the Titanic"

"But you're still telling me you're dead"! Susan suddenly shouted

"No I didn't die, I am dead to the people of this world but I was transported to Narnia for the second time that is where I died"

Susan couldn't believe it; everything was getting more and more complicated. She began to pace back and forth trying to understand everything William was telling her, he had to be lying nobody could ever come back from the dead.

"How can you be here if you died"? Susan asked

"Aslan resurrected me" William answered not looking at her

Susan somehow found herself even more shocked; now he was claiming to have been resurrected. She needed to get out that room, she started to walk towards the door however she noticed that package that he had come in with and suddenly curiosity began to take over again.

"What's in the package"? Susan asked not taking her eyes off it

"The thing we came here for" William replied

He then walked over to the bed and slowly unwrapped the package, Susan moved over to stand next to him and there lying on the bed was a painting of an ocean that looked a little bit rough. Susan glanced at William who was looking at her in a curious way; they both knew that what they had in front them now the Cult would not hesitate to kill anyone to get their hands on it.

* * *

The car finally pulled up in a quiet town centre, Father McGuiness exited the car and stretched a little from the long trip. He looked around the square and saw no signs of movement, he heard laughing and cheering from a small pub on the corner but apart from that there were no other sounds. Quigley soon joined him and together they walked towards the pub, as they got closer the door opened and a man walked out chuckling to himself.

"You there" McGuiness said as they approached

"Good evening sir, how may I help you"? The man asked politely

"Tell me where I can Harold and Alberta Scrubb"

The man looked confused at the way McGuiness spoke to him; he obviously wasn't used to getting demands like that. McGuiness waited but soon his short patience and he soon found himself grabbing the man by the throat and pulling out a dagger.

"Tell me where I can Harold and Alberta Scrubb" McGuiness repeated

"They live just outside the city, on the North side" the man whimpered

McGuiness gave a small smile and released the man who dropped to the floor where he continued to shake with fear, McGuiness snarled at him before walking back to the car. Quigley got the man to write down the exact address before following, McGuiness opened the door and was about to re-enter the car when the turned around and faced Quigley.

"Quigley wait for the men here, when they arrive lead them to the address and make it quick" McGuiness ordered

"Yes my lord" Quigley replied bowing

McGuiness then got in the car and shut the door, the car then drove away with Quigley watching them leave. McGuiness felt the hilt of his sword and slowly he imagined the death of William which gave him so much happiness he wanted nothing more than to make it true.

* * *

William sat on the wall to the house just looking up at the moon which was just about visible through the many dark clouds, William as he noticed the clouds were getting thicker and thicker signalling that Tash's power was slowly growing.

"William" a voice from behind him said

William turned around to see Sophia standing there giving him a small smile, he gave a small smile back and then turned back to the looking at the moon. Sophia moved and sat down beside him, he was grateful for her being there because even though many years had passed Sophia was still his friend.

"You heard then"? William asked

"William the whole house heard" Sophia answered

William gave a small smile at that and sighed, he had not planned on Susan finding his medal and his old uniform and he definitely did not plan on telling her the year he was born as he knew her reaction would be of shock, surprise and anger.

"I think I might have ruined it this time" William said

"Why do you think that"?

"Because she wasn't ready to know that about me yet and I told her" William explained

"William you had to, she found your medal" Sophia replied

"She also found her bow and arrows" William whispered

"Did you tell her about her own past"?

"No I couldn't do that, she's definitely not ready to hear that yet she has to remember on her own" William informed

"Well there you go, she'll get past this I know it" Sophia said placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder

"How"?

"Because I see the strength of a true Narnian in her, she may of forgotten but that Narnian spirit is still within her, all we have to do is help her bring it out" explained Sophia smiling.

* * *

"You were right, I shouldn't have trusted him" Susan muttered as Uncle Harold handed her a cup of tea while Aunt Alberta had an arm around her shoulders as all three of them sat in the sitting room.

"Tell us what happened" Alberta said softly

"I found some stuff in his chest, I think he's lying about who he is but he claims he was born in Eighteen Ninety Seven" Susan explained

"Well that's impossible" Harold mumbled

Susan nodded and took another sip of her tea, she would never have been talking to her aunt and uncle about stuff like this but they were her last remaining family and to her seemed to have changed since the death of Eustace.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, I've seen what that cult will do if they don't find those items" Susan said putting her tea on the table and holding her head in her hands.

The painting was sitting on one of the armchairs in the sitting room; all three of them looked at it and could not figure out why people were so desperate to get their hands of a simple painting.

"Well maybe we should just give them the painting" Alberta suggested

"But I thought you wanted to keep the painting for Eustace" Susan said looking at her aunt

"I do, but if this so called cult is willing to commit murder for it we should just give them it"

Susan wondered about that, but she knew that William and Sophia would not allow them to give the painting up. Susan looked at the bow and arrows that rested on the coffee table, her initials on the quiver stared back at her and the thought that these belonged to her scared her the most.

Suddenly load truck noises were heard from outside, Harold got up and looked out the window. Susan tried to see what was happening from the sofa but it was to low to see anything outside.

"What kind of person makes a racket like that at this time" Harold grumbled

He grabbed a coat which was hanging on the back of the door and proceeded to put it on, Alberta looked at the window where the truck noises were still happening before looking back at Harold who zipped up his coat and looked back at them.

"Harold what are you doing"? Alberta asked

"I'm going to see what's going on out there" Harold said before he disappeared into the hallway and they heard the front door open and then close a few seconds later.

Susan and Alberta continued to talk about the current situation but as they were talking a voice from outside interrupted them. Somebody from outside was shouting something; finally one word reached their ears.

"Susan"! The voice yelled

Susan slowly got up and moved to the window, she moved the curtain and stopped dead at what she saw. There standing outside the house was many soldiers all holding guns, a man wearing a hood was the one shouting her name and even more shockingly he held Harold with a dagger to his throat.

"Susan come outside now"! The man with the hood commanded

Susan and Alberta proceeded to the front door and slowly opened it; they both stepped outside and were immediately met with many guns being pointed at them. In that moment Susan couldn't help but think where was William.

"Behold men, Queen Susan the Gentle" The man yelled

"Who are you"? Susan demanded

"Never mind that Susan, you will go back inside like a good girl and give me the painting otherwise I will cut your uncle's throat"

"No"! Alberta screamed

The hooded man lead the rest of the soldiers in laughing, they seemed to enjoy causing pain and grief. Alberta dropped to her knees and began praying to God; Susan stood motionless staring at the man that held her uncle hostage.

"Hurry Susan, my patience is thinning and tell your aunt her so called God won't save her or her husband" the man said

"Stop this"! A voice shouted

Susan turned to see William walk out of the house carrying the painting, all the guns turned to him and nobody was laughing anymore.

"Well look at what we have here, the Phoenix of Narnia" the man said

"You know me, but I don't know you" William said staring at the man with a hood.

"Of course where are my manners" the man said

He then reached up with his free hand and pulled down his hood revealing his face. William's eyes opened in shock and he dropped the painting on the ground, his lips began to move but no words came out.

"Hello William" the man said

"It can't be, you died" William replied

"Now William that's no way to greet an old friend"

William stood frozen in shock; Susan looked from the man to William confused at how William could know him. The man began laughing again and the dagger that he had pointed to Harold's throat began to twitch in his hand.

"William who is he"? Susan asked

"His name is Kadius and I'm the one who taught him how to fight" William whispered as Father McGuiness smiled at the use of his real name.


	21. Painful Memories

Chapter 21

Painful Memories

"You taught him"? Susan said confused

"Yes he did, he taught me how to use a sword and how to be a soldier" Kadius explained

"Which was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made" William growled

Kadius's eyes narrowed at that and the dagger he still held to Harold's throat twitched a little causing Susan and Alberta to become even more anxious. Susan watched William and wondered why he was trying to aggravate the man who was threatening to cut her uncles' throat.

"You took me in, you taught me everything you knew and then you arrested me and sentenced me to death" Snarled Kadius

"You left me no choice, you treated the Narnians I entrusted you to command like slaves and then above all you tried to murder my friend" William shot back his hands curling to fists.

"She was a Calormene, the same people who massacred my family"! Kadius Yelled

"That had nothing to do with her, she was under my protection" William argued

Kadius gave William an even darker look and then looked at Harold who he still held hostage; he looked at his soldiers who all had their guns aimed at William. He took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm himself before he finally turned back to William.

"Pick up the painting and bring it to me" Kadius commanded

William did not move, he just stared straight at Kadius and growled with anger. Susan had never seen William so close to the edge he truly looked like he wanted nothing more than to unsheathe Excalibur and end it once and for all.

"Now William, we both know you're not in a position to refuse me" Kadius said with an evil smile

William grunted at that and then slowly bent down and picked up the painting from where it had fallen on the floor. He then glanced at Susan and slowly walked forward and stood in front of where Kadius and Harold stood.

"Now give it to him" Kadius ordered nodding his head to where Quigley stood.

"First let him go" William countered nodding his head at Harold

Kadius seemed to think about that for a minute before finally agreeing, he slowly lowered the dagger and pushed Harold forward. Harold stumbled and was caught one handed by William who nodded at him and then told him to get back to Alberta and Susan.

"Now William give Quigley the painting"

William slowly handed the painting to Quigley who gave a squeal of delight as soon as he touched it. However his smile faltered after William looked at him with such disgust that Quigley immediately fell silent, Kadius on the other hand continued to wear his evil smile as he watched William trying to control his anger.

"Now explain Kadius, how did you survive"? William demanded

Kadius smiled at the memory and was filled with happiness at finally being able to tell William how exactly he failed to kill him.

* * *

_The many Narnians stood on the hill watching as the army of the Calormene's slowly approached them. William was at the front of the Narnians on his white horse, George was at his left while on his right was Kadius. _

"_Look at them, look at the scum" Kadius spat_

"_Calm yourself Kadius, you must never fight in anger" William said wisely _

_William then turned and looked at the army behind him, each one he admired for being here and knew that Narnia was a strong country because of the strength and courage of its occupants. He turned back and saw the large numbers of the Calormene's, he knew this battle would be tough but he knew that the Narnians could do it. _

"_It's time" said William_

"_For Narnia William"? Kadius asked holding out his hand and smiling at his usual question he asked every time before a battle. _

"_For Narnia" William repeated smiling and grabbing his hand._

* * *

_The beautiful castle of Cair Paravel rested on the cliff's overlooking the Eastern Ocean. The castle was alive with the small town outside the castle packed with many different Narnians going along with their business while the castle guards carefully patrolled the walls. _

_Inside the castle however something big was happening, for today in the great hall the court had gathered to witness a trial. _

"_Kadius of Archenland, you are hereby accused of attempting to murder a member of the court and also for treason against the Guardian and High Protector of Narnia, Sir William the Phoenix" The chancellor announced _

_Kadius stood in the centre of the hall staring at William who sat in the middle of the table which was placed just in front of the dais where Queen Swanwhite of Narnia sat on her throne. _

"_I have not committed any crime; I have only done the duty I feel befits any soldier of Narnia. I admit I attempted to kill the Calormene girl but that is because her kind cannot be trusted, for decades we have been at endless war and I say that if anyone shelters a Calormene in this magnificent castle then they are the ones who have committed a crime" Kadius shouted to the whole hall but his eyes remained on William. _

"_That Calormene girl you speak of ran away from home and abandoned her Calormen faith and heritage, I invited her into this castle and allowed her to work as the Queen's lady in waiting which I did with the Queen's permission" William explained_

"_You are blinded William, you see a young girl and you believe no harm can from her but I know that no good can come from a Calormene, I saw that myself when they murdered my family and burned down my home" Kadius replied darkly_

"_I feel your pain, I too have lost loved ones but trying to murder someone for the crime of others is not how you remember them" William shot back_

"_William you taught me how to fight, you taught me what it took to be a soldier, you taught me the old code so I beg you please order my release we are friends" Kadius said softly_

_William sat in silence he turned around to Swanwhite who still sat on her throne, she gave him a sad smile and Kadius knew what was being unsaid between them. William turned around and faced Kadius, he looked him straight in the eyes and sighed._

"_In any normal trial, I may consider your sentence be exile. However I feel that you are to dangerous and to unpredictable for that, you have shown your hatred to Calormen and I feel that the way you treated the Narnians under your command was so shocking that I think you will hurt anyone to fuel your fury, therefore you leave me no choice but to sentence you to death in the name of the Queen, High Protector and Royal Council"_

_Whispering and muttering broke out among the many Narnians in the hall, Kadius however was silent he stared at William with so much hatred he would love nothing more than to pierce his heart with a blade._

* * *

_The crowd that gathered on the cliff remained silent, William stood over the stone which had now became infamous for executions. George stood next to him carrying Excalibur in it's sheath, Swanwhite stood on the other side of William and had one hand on his shoulder reassuring him that it would be alright. _

_Kadius was brought out by two fauns, his hands were bound in shackles and the sound of chains could easily be heard due to the silent crowd. The fauns dragged him to the stone and stopped him in front of William, he seemed like he was about to say something but instead he just nodded at the guards to put Kadius's head on the stone. _

_However as they were about to carry out the command, Kadius suddenly moved quickly he drew one of faun's sword from it's sheath and stabbed him in the stomach while he elbowed the other one in the face with his other arm causing him to hit the floor. _

_He then grabbed Swanwhite and held the sword to her throat, George and other guards all drew their weapons. However William commanded everyone to lay down their weapons he would not risk Swanwhite getting harmed. _

"_Kadius leave her out of this" William said _

"_Why should I"? Kadius demanded holding the sword closer to her throat causing a small cut to appear_

"_No, don't do it I'm the one that sentenced you remember, so let us finish it" William offered _

_Kadius thought about his proposal and finally agreed, he ordered a guard to remove his shackles and ordered somebody else to bring him his sword. William waited anxiously and kept telling Swanwhite it would be alright, eventually the guards returned carrying a sword in a sheath which he handed to Kadius. _

_Kadius then pushed Swanwhite who was caught by William, he then moved her out of the way as Kadius quickly unsheathed his sword and sheathed it at William's head. William quickly rolled out of the way and grabbed Excalibur from its sheath that was still held by George. The sword glowed in his hand and both the William and Kadius faced each other weapons held up high. _

_Their swords clanged together and William had to quickly move as Kadius brought his sword down and attempted to slice William's torso. William responded by hammering Excalibur down upon his sword causing sparks to shoot from the blades, everyone watched shockingly as the two former friends continued to bring their swords down upon each other; George stood next to Swanwhite his sword still drawn waiting for the opportunity to jump in and help his brother._

_Eventually the two swordsmen started to tire, William swung his sword high and brought it down near Kadius's head but he countered it with his own sword blocking the strike and also was able to leave a devastating gash in William's sword arm. Both of them started to get closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, they gave everything they had to try and disarm the other. Finally William attempted one last attempt at disarming Kadius and was instead countered and received a devastating cut in the side of his torso causing him to fall to one knee. _

_Kadius smiled at his victory, William tried a last resort defence but that ended with Excalibur flying from his hand. Swanwhite screamed his name and George took a step forward obviously anxious to join in, however Kadius made sure that nobody came near by dragging William closer to the edge and threatening to throw him off if anyone came near. _

_He then raised his sword up preparing to deliver the killing strike, however just as he brought the sword down towards William's neck he rolled out of the way and grabbed Excalibur from the ground, he then spun around quickly and managed to stick Excalibur in Kadius's chest as soon as he turned around. _

_Excalibur was then retracted from his chest and Kadius begun to stumble back near the edge, he gave one last look at William which was one of pure hatred before he fell over the edge and crashed into the water below._

* * *

_The impact of the water hurt a lot, but not as much as the temperature which hit him like a thousand knives. He struggled for breath and tried to swim up but the wound in his chest caused him instead to slowly sink, his consciousness was fading and just when he was certain he was going to die he heard a voice._

"_Kadius, Kadius" It whispered _

_He tried looking around but couldn't see anyone, the voice kept calling his name but still he was the only one in the water. Suddenly he felt something travel down his throat and suddenly he was breathing fully and normally under water, his wound had healed itself and had turned into a scar. _

"_I am Tash Kadius and I will save you if you promise me your service, I can also guarantee your revenge against the man who sent you here" The voice said_

"_Yes" Kadius mumbled shocked that he could speak_

"_Then for now you will live in my country where you can prepare until it is time" The voice informed with a high cold laugh._

* * *

"So that's how you survived, Tash saved you" William said

"Yes and now the time has come to have my revenge" Kadius said with an evil smile

However before Kadius could act and arrow sped through the air and connected with Quigley's shoulder causing him to drop the painting. Susan looked up to see Sophia on the roof of the house firing many arrows at the soldiers, William acted fast and punched a shoulder in the face and grabbed his machine gun. He kicked the painting causing it to slide on the ground to where Susan was; she picked up and looked at William.

"Get inside"! He shouted as he opened fire on the soldiers.

Susan, Alberta and Harold all ran inside the house, they heard lots of gunfire and many screams from the soldiers. Eventually Sophia entered the house carrying her bow and arrows; she was followed by William who continued to fire the gun he had taken. He fired a few more shots before he closed the door and told everyone to get in the sitting room, but as they entered the room many shots could be heard and many bullets started flying into the room through the window. Everybody got down and William began firing whenever he could out of the window.

"William what are we going to do"? Susan asked desperately

"I don't know" William replied looking worried


	22. The Escape

Chapter 22

The Escape

The bullets zoomed in through the window causing the group to stay curled up on the floor with their hands over their heads. William laid just underneath the window occasionally firing back with the gun he had taken, however there seemed to be too many soldiers as William kept being pinned down by the enemies fire.

"Any ideas"? Sophia asked him above the noise of the gunfire

"Not at the moment" William replied firing a few more shots out of the window.

"Well we better think of something fast before they storm in here" Sophia informed

William nodded at that and checked the ammunition he had left; he grimaced at the sight of it knowing he didn't have that much left. He looked at Susan who looked at him with so much desperation and fear in her eyes he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He glanced out of the window and saw many soldiers running around but there was no sign to where Kadius was.

Everything that was happening seemed too familiar to William and he couldn't help but think back to his time fighting in the Great War, maybe it was because of the fire fight he was now in or maybe it was because of Susan finding his old uniform and medal earlier on.

_The Battle of Loos, France, 13__th__ October 1915_

_The ground shook from the explosions of the artillery, bullets fired between trenches where each man kneeled down in the mud and dirty water wishing they were back home with their families then here. _

_William stood with binoculars looking out across No Man's Land and the German Trench, both sides had not yet charged it seemed they were waiting for the right time. A man in an officer's uniform quickly jogged up beside him. _

"_William" he said _

"_Lieutenant Andrews" William answered saluting _

_Andrews returned his salute and then both of them turned back to looking out over the trench. William was now a 2__nd__ Lieutenant after he was promoted due to his bravery during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle._

"_Any movement"? Andrews asked_

"_None sir, the machine guns having been firing through the night but that is it" William informed. _

_Soon a young soldier walked up to them, he looked to be only about fifteen and seemed so out of place in a war like this. He stood to his full height and saluted the two Lieutenants, William and Andrews returned his salute and smiled at the young boy._

"_I will take my leave" Andrews said with a small smile_

"_What is it Thomas"? William asked as soon as Andrews had left_

"_Are we going over the top tonight"? _

"_Not that I know of, but you'll know as soon as I know I promise" William said smiling_

_Thomas returned the smile, but the smile then turned to into a frown. William placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and made him look at him, William cared for this boy a lot he didn't like seeing someone so young being forced to fight in a war. _

"_What's on your mind Thomas"? _

"_Do you think we will ever survive this war"? He asked _

_William looked sadly at that, this war was different than any war he had ever fought in. He was scared to admit to him that he didn't expect to survive this war but to be perfectly honest he no longer cared if he died, he had no family to be with he had simply had nothing to lose. _

"_I'm not sure about me, but I am sure that you will survive this war, you will have a lovely family and will die an old man in his bed" William said smiling_

"_How do you know"? _

"_Trust me" William whispered _

"_I do" Thomas replied smiling_

William had to stop tears from forming at the memory, after that day he never saw that boy again as that day he was transported back to Narnia. He never knew what happened to him and he prayed to Aslan that he survived that horrible war and lived the long happy life William promised him.

"William"! Susan shouted

William looked at her and knew that they couldn't stay in this room a minute longer; they needed a way out of here. Bullets continued to fly in and William began to crawl to the door he quickly opened it and gestured at everybody to get out into the hallway, which they all did.

"What now"? Sophia asked

"Alberta where does your back door lead"? William said choosing not to answer Sophia

"Nothing just some fields and a road" She answered

"Where does the road lead"?

"Back into the city or it leads to a small village a few miles up" Alberta informed

William nodded at that, he then quickly fired some more shots from the doorway of the sitting room. Things were starting to get desperate and he knew it, he looked at four of them and knew that they were all looking to him for answers.

"Okay you four head for the road and start making your way to the village" William said

"What about you"? Susan asked

"I'll hold them off here"

Susan was shocked at that, William couldn't hold off all those soldiers by himself. William looked at her and she knew that she couldn't convince him to go with her; she then moved forward and hugged him instead.

"Please be careful" She begged

"I will but promise you will not let go of the painting, always keep it with you" he replied

"I will, I promise"

William then gave her another hug before he let go and gave a hug to Sophia, he told her to protect them no matter what which she instantly agreed to. He then shook Harold and Alberta's hand before he told them to go.

"Susan" he called as they started to leave.

She turned around and immediately had to catch the bow and arrows he threw at her. She looked at the silver S and P and smiled at them, she then looked at William who smiled and nodded at her to which she returned. She was then pulled out of the house by Sophia and William was left alone to fight the soldiers.

* * *

Kadius took cover behind his car watching the house; he had ordered his men to cease fire and waited for William to make a move. However William seemed to be waiting for him for he too had fallen silent, groaning was heard next to him and he looked down to where Quigley sat still with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

"Quigley will you be quiet" Kadius hissed

"But my lord, my shoulder really hurts" Quigley wined

Kadius rolled his eyes and reached over and with one pull removed the arrow from his shoulder, Quigley gave a scream of pain and Kadius had to put a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"My Lord, what are your orders"? A solider asked coming up to him

"Split yourselves into three groups, two go round the back and one go in through the front" Kadius commanded

"Yes my lord" the solider said before he ran back to relay the orders

The soldiers readied themselves by loading their guns and then got into their positions, Kadius nodded at the soldier leading the first group who nodded back before he charged at the front door and booted it open.

There was silence for a few seconds before gunfire suddenly erupted from the house, Kadius could hear a couple of screams from the soldiers but surprisingly not that many. He could hear a couple of the soldiers shouting orders, slowly Kadius got up from behind his car; he drew his black bladed sword and slowly proceeded to the front door leaving Quigley behind the car moaning in pain.

He entered the house to see all the soldiers crouched in the hallway, he saw a few dead near the stairs but there was no sounds coming from anyone the gunfire had stopped. He moved through the soldiers until he reached one who was crouching at the foot of the stairs with his gun pointed up.

"Where is he"? Kadius asked immediately

"He was firing at us from upstairs, but he stopped about a minute ago and we've got some men looking outside" the soldier explained

Kadius nodded and slowly he began to go upstairs, the soldier protested but stopped talking as soon as Kadius looked at him. Kadius raised his sword as he walked up the stairs, however when he reached the stairs what he saw made him growl in anger.

There at the top stairs rested the gun William had taken, string was tied around the trigger and around the knob of a door. William had left the gun firing down the stairs which had stopped due to it finally running out of bullets, Kadius yelled in anger which caused some of the soldiers to run up the stairs. The one that reached Kadius first looked confused at the scene before him, but he was met with Kadius turning around and sticking his sword straight in his stomach.

The rest of the soldiers all froze in fear as they witnessed Kadius take out his anger on their fellow solider. Kadius then retracted his sword and looked at the rest of the soldiers, blood started to drip from the blade onto the floor causing the soldiers to take small steps back afraid for their lives.

"Find them, now"! Kadius shouted

The soldiers scrambled down the stairs and started searching for the group; Kadius looked at the soldier he murdered before he slowly walked down the stairs and outside thinking about how once again William seemed to have outsmarted him and his men.

* * *

William climbed over the fence into next door's garden, the gun he had left behind with string tied around the trigger was firing as the soldiers entered the house. He carried his chest which he had managed to get out with some difficulty, and made his way to the next door neighbour's car who luckily seemed to be out. However he could hear sirens in the distance signalling the other neighbours must have signalled the alarm, he hurried to the car and elbowed the window causing it to break.

He then put down the chest as he quickly reached inside and unlocked the door; he then quickly placed his chest in the trunk before he jumped in and closed the door. He pulled a knife from his pocket and stuck it into the keyhole and started turning, he smiled at the memory of learning to do this while working at the docks just before the start of the war.

He smiled even more when the engine started; he then reversed out of the driveway and headed to the road where he had sent Susan and the others. He prayed to Aslan that the soldiers had not found them and that they were still safe.

* * *

Sophia led the group down the road, it was dark and they were surrounded by trees which made them even more nervous. There were no cars on the road and everything seemed to be quiet until they heard gunfire coming from somewhere behind them, Sophia started trying to speed up but Harold and Alberta were struggling Susan tried helping them but it seemed that they weren't going to get to that village anytime soon.

"Come on Susan, we have to keep moving" Sophia whispered as Susan stopped for a minute panting

"Are we going to make it"? Susan asked

"Of course we are" Sophia said

However they suddenly heard movement in the trees behind them and suddenly voices could be heard as about six soldiers exited the trees and stepped onto the road, they spotted the small group immediately and ordered them to stop which is what they did.

"What do we do with them"? One of the soldiers asked as they pointed their guns at the group

"We take them back to Lord Kadius, he wants to give them to our master" another soldier answered.

However headlights could be seen in the distance, a car was coming down the road. One of the soldiers turned around and pointed his gun straight at it preparing to shoot the driver; however the car didn't slow down instead it sped up on seeing the soldiers.

The soldier started firing as the car came closer, but it wasn't enough the car connected with the soldier causing him to roll on to the windshield and then onto the road when the car braked.

Another soldier ran to he door on the driver's side and was met straight away with the door opening causing him to run into it, a hand then grabbed his gun and he was then punched in the face causing him to hit the ground unconscious.

Susan and Sophia smiled widely as William stepped onto the car and quickly drew Excalibur to kill two more of the soldiers, however the other two began firing but William dropped to the floor but came back up with a gun from one of the fallen soldiers; he fired at the two soldiers and managed to kill them quickly.

Susan and Sophia both ran to him and hugged them, he smiled at them both and saw that Susan had kept her promise and still had the painting.

"Everyone in the car lets go" William ordered

Susan, Alberta and Harold got into the backseat of the car while Sophia jumped into the passenger seat at the front. William got in as well after he had hidden the bodies of the soldiers in the trees so the others would not know the direction they had gone in.

"Where to now"? Susan asked from the back

"We'll go to that village for now and we'll figure out our next move from there" William answered

Susan nodded at that, but in that moment both Susan and William knew that things were getting out of control and soon a time would come when they may not be able to escape.


	23. The Next Step

Chapter 23

The Next Step

Kadius sat in his car waiting for the report, Quigley was in the passenger seat at the front moaning from the wound on his shoulder. Kadius had his black sword held up to his face, he could not believe William had managed to escape his clutches once again and he knew that his master would punish him severely for losing the painting.

"My Lord" a voice said

Kadius turned to see one of his men standing outside the car; Kadius unwound the window and told him to speak.

"My Lord, there is no trace of them we think they might of headed back towards the city" the soldier reported.

"Send the scouts after them, get the rest of the men back into the trucks were returning to Finchley" Kadius ordered

"Yes My Lord" the soldier replied before he left to carry out his orders

Kadius stared back at his sword and growled at the thought of William escaping him with the painting; it seemed he underestimated just how good William was and made a mental note to now be aware of William and acknowledge him as an even more dangerous enemy.

* * *

Susan sat on her bed looking out of the window; the group had stopped at the small village of Arrington. They were currently staying in the Red Lion hotel and were all exhausted from the latest skirmish, Susan felt tired and dirty she didn't know what was happening anymore the cult seemed to be behind them all the time now and William seemed to be pushed to the absolute limit.

_Knock Knock_

"Come in" Susan said looking at the door

The door opened and Alberta stepped in, she gave a small smile which Susan returned. Susan knew what had happened affected Alberta hard her home was the sight of a fire fight and worst of all she was forced to abandon it as well.

"How are you feeling"? Susan asked

"I'm alright thank you, just a little shaken up" Alberta answered

Susan nodded at that and invited her aunt to sit down, she joined her on the bed and together they both looked out of the window at the small village which seemed so peaceful and lovely.

"Susan" Alberta said turning to her

"Yes"? Susan responded

"What are you going to do now"? Albert asked

Susan looked confused at that, but deep down she knew what Alberta was asking. Did she feel confident enough to continue helping William in his quest, she honestly know didn't know what her answer was to that question.

"I don't know Aunt Alberta, everything is just a mess now" Susan admitted

"Well if you don't feel comfortable around him anymore, you can always come and stay with me and you're Uncle" Alberta said smiling

"I do feel comfortable being around him, I just don't know if I carry on doing what he's doing" Susan replied

Alberta gave her a small smile and put an arm around her shoulders, she gave them a little squeeze which resulted in Susan giving a small smile and resting her head on Alberta's shoulder.

"I never told you this before, but when I was seventeen I fell in love with a young soldier. The year was Nineteen Sixteen and I signed up to help nurse the soldiers who were fighting in the war, anyway I worked in London when this young corporal who had been shipped over as he had been shot in the side and luckily the doctors were able to remove the bullet. His name was Thomas Hartley; he was a sweet boy only sixteen years old he showed me that although he had seen horrible things at war his faith had kept him alive. He told me that just before a battle began he confided in a Lieutenant about surviving the war, the Lieutenant assured him that he would survive the war and live to a very old age. He said that the Lieutenant later died in the battle but they never found his body to bury, Thomas believed the Lieutenant survived because he was described as being impossible to kill".

Susan listened to the story as Alberta told it, she had never imagined Alberta being a young girl in love, this story interested her and it made her see her aunt in a new way. Alberta carried on the story eventually telling Susan that Thomas went to find his brother who was said to have been wounded at war and was shipped to America in 1918; she said Thomas never returned to England and she never heard from him again.

The story opened Susan's eyes as Alberta was invited to go to America with Thomas, but she stayed for the sake of her family as her father was killed at war. Susan knew what Alberta was trying to tell her and more importantly she knew she had to speak to William, she thanked Alberta for telling her the story and then proceeded to exit the room and head towards William's.

* * *

William sat on his bed holding Excalibur, he looked at the mystical blade that had been entrusted to him and sighed. Seeing Kadius again shocked him completely, he always thought he had died when he fell off the cliffs of Cair Paravel but he had no idea that Tash had come to his rescue.

Another thing that worried him was that this quest seemed to be the most difficult William had ever done, he had managed to escape with his life but he knew eventually he would not be so lucky. But what worried him the most is that he kept putting Susan and Sophia in danger, he would happily do this quest on his own but he knew that the cult would go after Susan whether she was on the quest or not.

There then came a small knock at the door, William quickly sheathed Excalibur and placed it under the covers of his bed as he did not want any of the hotel staff to see it. Once he had hidden the sword he told the person to come in and the door slowly opened to reveal Susan, she gave him a small smile which he returned.

"Can I come in"? She asked

"Yes, of course" William answered gesturing for her to enter

She moved over to where William was sat and took a seat on the bed next to him, William gave her a small smile but he knew that something was on her mind.

"How are you feeling"? He asked

"A little tired but apart from that I'm fine" Susan replied

William nodded at that and then looked at the small fie he lit in the fireplace , although it was doing its job of producing heat for the room it still seemed to be cold. William glanced at Susan and saw that she seemed nervous, he wondered if was due to another attack from the cult or was it to do with something else.

"So what do we do now"? Susan asked trying to break the tension

"I'm not sure, we have the painting but there are still three other items out there" William said solemnly

Susan understood why William didn't seem pleased about having the possession of the painting, the cult nearly killed them all this time and who knew how far they would go to try and get the others.

"Which one do you think we should go for"?

"I'm not sure, we know that the horn is in the British museum and the rings are in a police station in Finchley, but we have no lead on where the wardrobe is" William informed

Susan nodded at that and looked at the fire, she didn't know why she felt so uneasy it could just be the after effects of the attack but she couldn't help wonder if it was something more. She looked at William and noticed he too looked uncomfortable, however she couldn't understand why he would be as according to him he was a hardened warrior.

"Which item do you think would be easier to get"? Susan asked attempting to break the tension again

"Well to get the rings and the horn we will need to break in to get them, so we have to decide whether to break into a museum or break in to a police station" William explained

"It's not going to be easy is it"?

"No, it isn't"

"Well it's not like it hasn't been difficult already" Susan muttered

William laughed at that which caused Susan to laugh as well, William then stood up and looked out of the window at the lovely little village before him. He stopped laughing and sighed instead, Susan stood up and moved beside him where she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong"?

"I just don't know how long were going to last, the cult have already attacked us many times and the radio said the police are asking questions due to the fire fight and explosions that are happening, it just seems like this is not going to end well for us" William admitted his head bowed

"William it will be alright, we'll get through it" Susan replied

"How do you know"?

"Because we have you as a leader" Susan said smiling

William turned around and looked at her; he smiled back at her and held her hand. This sent a weird feeling through Susan, she shivered a little but it wasn't because she was cold it was because she was nervous. William placed his other hand on her cheek which began to get warm and Susan soon found herself full of heat.

"Thank you Susan" William whispered smiling as his emerald green eyes met her ocean blue ones.

Susan was struggling to breathe as she stared into his beautiful eyes, she found herself leaning towards him and before she knew what was happening their lips had met and they were now locked in a passionate kiss. William seemed to pour so much emotion into that kiss that the pure bliss of it nearly took Susan off her feet.

Her hands found there way to his head where her finger started to slowly run through his hair which felt so soft. The kiss turned more heated as William's hands moved to her back where he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss even more.

However soon Susan realised exactly what she was doing, she suddenly turned afraid and pulled away from William causing him to look confused. She shook her head as she placed one hand on his chest to push him back but couldn't help but admire the strong body she felt underneath her palm.

"I'm sorry William, this is wrong" Susan whispered nervously

"Susan I'm sorry, it's my fault" William replied

"No I didn't stop myself, I have to go" She said hurriedly

She then turned to the door and quickly turned the handle, William called her name but she just turned and looked at him one more time before she disappeared into the hallway shutting the door behind her.

William placed his head against the door and sighed, he kicked himself for being such an idiot he had let his emotions get the better of him and now he had succeeded in scaring her. In that moment he definitely knew he had made things very awkward.

* * *

Meanwhile Susan ran back to her room and quickly shut the door; she couldn't believe what had happened, William had kissed her. However that wasn't what she was thinking about, she was more focused on the fact that she had kissed him back and did not stop the kiss before it was too late. She didn't want tomorrow to come as she knew that things would be so awkward, she just hoped she would have the courage to look in his eyes again.

Susan laid down on her bed and sighed, she couldn't stop thinking about how his eyes seemed to be so magical and how soft his lips were against hers. She turned herself so she could see the sky outside the window and in that moment wished Lucy was here; her sister always told her what she wanted to hear and always had the answers but unfortunately her sister couldn't help her now.

* * *

_Authors Note: If anyone's wondering, the soldier Thomas Hartley who Alberta fell in love with is the same soldier William knew and was seen in the flashback in the previous chapter. _

_Also William was the Lieutenant who promised Thomas would survive the war and who Thomas told Alberta about. _


	24. The Journey Continues

Chapter 24

The Journey Continues 

Morning came quickly for the exhausted group, William stood in his room watching the little village come to life. He kept thinking about how he was so stupid last night, he kissed Susan and scared her away. He knew breakfast would be so awkward and he just hoped that the rest of the group didn't catch on, his mind drifted back to his time with Susan in Narnia they had faced many dangers together but at that moment it seemed that their greatest challenge would finish them once and for all.

He looked over at the book that rested on his bedside table, since leaving Earth in 1915 he had missed a lot. It made him feel out of place when he heard people telling their stories of the Second World War; it annoyed him that he couldn't tell anyone about how much he was involved in history, he had fought in World War One and his parents had unfortunately perished when the Titanic sank something he could never tell people.

However he looked from the book to Excalibur which rested once again on the bed, he knew that if he didn't stop Tash then the world would end. There could not be any failures on this quest and that scared him the most.

* * *

Susan wanted to stay in bed that day, but she knew that they had to move on because Sophia had said the cult would have sent scouts out to try and find them. The main reason she wanted to stay in bed was she didn't want to face William, she still couldn't believe she had kissed him last night. She did think he was handsome but she didn't really know him he still claimed to have been born in at the end of the Victorian era and that made him sound crazy.

However she couldn't stop thinking about how much of an amazing kiss that had been, it was so passionate and so blissful that it would just not leave her mind. Once again she wished her family were with her, especially Lucy she could always speak to her family and even though she had William and Sophia on this so called quest with her she couldn't help but think about how much safer she would feel with her family by her side.

"_Knock Knock"_

"Who is it"? Susan asked hoping it wasn't William

"It's Sophia"

Susan sighed with relief and told Sophia to come in, Sophia was already dressed and she smiled as she entered. Susan returned the smile and invited her to sit down; Sophia sat down and somehow noticed something was wrong immediately as she asked her what the matter was.

"William and I kissed last night" Susan mumbled

"Really"?

Susan nodded and looked out the window, for once the sun was out but she knew it wouldn't last because on their drive back to London they would probably be met with rain and bitter cold winds.

"So what does this kiss mean for you two"? Sophia asked

"I don't know, I liked it but for some reason it seemed wrong and scary" Susan answered truthfully

Sophia nodded at that and held her hand; she understood how difficult it was for them both. William was struggling to hide his feelings while trying to get Susan to believe in Narnia and Aslan again, while Susan was confused as there seemed to be something between them which confused her since she doesn't remember there time in Narnia together.

"I think you have to ask yourself is do you trust him"? Sophia asked

Susan paused at that and looked out of the window, since she had met William he had protected her but had also brought danger into her life and the lives of her aunt and uncle. Yet even though they were exhausted from being chased by the murderous Cult, she had to admit she still believed that William could lead the group.

* * *

Kadius awoke to see a blinding light staring back at him; he blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. He looked more clearly to see that sunlight was staring back at him as he lay in the backseat of the car, he looked a little closer and watched as the single beam of sunlight was slowly erased by the dark clouds that surrounded it.

Kadius stretched a little and looked outside the car to see that he was outside the church in Finchley. He slowly exited the car and proceeded to enter the church, nobody was in the church when walked in but as he slowly made his way to the hidden corridors below he ran into Quigley who wore a sling and was accompanied by two soldiers.

"My Lord" Quigley squealed when he saw him

"Quigley may I ask why you left me to sleep in that retched car"?

"You were fast asleep my lord, I didn't want to disturb you" Quigley stammered

Kadius looked at him and at the two soldiers who didn't seem in a hurry to jump to Quigley's defence. Kadius couldn't help thinking about how gutless humans were, of course he understood there were some exceptions as he still considered William to be one of the bravest men he had ever met.

"Get out of my sight all of you" Kadius snarled

Quigley and the soldiers hurried away while Kadius proceeded into the main chamber where he saw the familiar red symbol of Tash, he stood in front of it and kneeled.

"My Master" he whispered

Suddenly the temperature dropped and Kadius tried his best not to shiver. A cold presence seemed to engulf him and although afraid Kadius remained where he was still bowing to his invisible master.

"You failed me"! The high cold voice of Tash suddenly screamed

Kadius shivered even more at his master's anger, he knew this was coming after all he did fail to retrieve the painting which was now in the possession of William. He suddenly felt pressure on his arm and gasped in pain as he felt something sharp like claws dig into his shoulder.

"Please forgive me my lord" Begged Kadius

However the pressure on his arm was not loosened but increased instead, Kadius could feel his warm blood start to drip down his arm. Finally he heard his master growl in anger before his arm was finally released.

"You will find the other items Kadius or I will take back the life I gave you when I saved you from those cold waters" his master said his anger still there.

"Yes master, I will not fail you"

"You better hope so" the voice replied before it disappeared and the temperature slowly rose.

Kadius continued to kneel for a few minutes as he sighed in relief, he groaned as he slowly removed his shirt to see three big cuts that were bleeding. He grunted in pain as he called for Quigley who arrived in a matter of minutes.

"Yes my lord"? Quigley asked but stopped when he saw the injuries Kadius now possessed

"Send down the doctor now" Kadius ordered through heavy breaths

Quigley nodded and quickly bolted out of the room, Kadius remained kneeling and thought about his master's warning he had to find the other four items otherwise he was sure his life would be over.

* * *

William slowly walked down the stairs of the small hotel and entered the dining room; as soon as he walked in he spotted the rest of the group sitting at a table nearest to the window. He made his way over to them and said his good mornings as he sat down, he glanced at Susan who didn't seem to want to look at him as she sat in between her aunt and uncle and kept her eyes firmly on her breakfast.

"So William what's the plan today"? Sophia asked as she ate her breakfast

"To head back to Finchley, we need to start planning our next move" William answered

Sophia nodded that and continued to eat her breakfast; William poured himself some tea from the pot on the table. Susan took a chance and gave a quick glance at William. He had changed his clothes and looked to have had a bath as he seemed much cleaner and Susan couldn't help but notice how more handsome he was.

He looked at her which caused Susan to blush and look down at her plate, William sighed as he knew things were definitely awkward between them confirming his fears. The group continued to eat breakfast in silence while occasionally William and Susan would glance at each other but their eyes would not meet for more than a few seconds.

* * *

After breakfast William returned to his room and started to pack all of his stuff, he pulled Excalibur out from where it was sheathed underneath his bed and placed it carefully into his chest. He also wrapped the painting carefully in blankets and slowly lowered it into the chest.

There then came a soft knock at the door and in came Susan much to his surprise, he offered her seat on the bed while he stood near the window. For a few minuets they didn't say anything but eventually William couldn't stand it any longer.

"Susan I am sorry for what happened last night, I should never of kissed you and I understand if you are angry with me but please do not be silent as I cannot stand it" William begged

"William please I am not angry at you, we are both to blame for what happened last night as we both gave in to moments of weakness" Susan replied giving him a small smile

William returned the smile but he had to admit he was confused, did she mean that she has feelings for him and gave into a minute of weakness or does she mean that she was in an emotional state from the attacks and couldn't help but kiss him back, at this time he did not know.

"So if were heading back to Finchley today I guess were going after the rings"? Susan said changing the subject.

"Yes I just hope they are in that station and have not been moved" William mumbled in reply

Susan nodded at that and watched how anxious William seemed to be, he folded his arms and looked like something was troubling him. Susan didn't know if it was something to do with the quest or was it something to do with the kiss they had shared the previous night.

"Will your aunt and uncle be coming with us"? William asked

"No they are going to stay here; they have a small cottage in the Lake District. They are going to tell the police they were there and were not home when somebody shot up their house" Susan explained

"Hopefully the police believe that, the last thing we need is the police on our tail" William said

There then came another knock at the door, they both turned to see Sophia walk into the room. She smiled at the pair of them and informed them that the car was all packed up apart from William's chest; William told them to go and said that he would be down in a few minuets.

* * *

"Susan please be careful" Alberta pleaded

They were stood in front of the car, they were waiting for William but Susan had taken this time to say goodbye to her aunt and uncle. They seemed sad to see her go but also seemed surprisingly proud that their niece was setting out to stop the men that had attacked them.

"I will Aunt Alberta" Susan replied

"If you need anything please call us" Harold said

"Yes Uncle Harold"

They then turned as William came out of the hotel carrying his chest; he placed in the trunk and then smiled at the Scrubb's. He shook hands with them both as did Sophia but they both made William promise that he would protect Susan no matter what, a promise that William instantly made and had no intention of breaking it.

Eventually they entered the car and waved goodbye to the Scrubb's as they drove away from the village of Arrington and towards the next step of their adventure.


	25. More Nightmares

Chapter 25

More Nightmares

Kadius slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on an uncomfortable bed, his shoulder was banged and he grunted in pain as he slowly managed to sit up. He rested against a wall and breathed slowly as the pain from his shoulder continued.

"My Lord" a voice said

Kadius looked over to a door and saw Quigley standing there, the little man seemed nervous but Kadius was in too much pain to say anything about it. He gestured for Quigley to come near, which he did but very slowly.

"How long have I been out"? He asked

"Two days my lord" Quigley answered

Kadius sighed at that, things were getting desperate now he had to find the rest of the items or he would feel more of his maters wrath. He hated the fact that William managed to retrieve the painting first and he made a promise to himself to put an end to William and get all of the items.

"Quigley do we have any leads on the items"? Kadius demanded

"No my lord" Quigley stammered in reply

Kadius growled in anger causing Quigley to quiver in fear, Kadius looked at him and Quigley immediately understood that he wanted to be alone and quickly left the room. Kadius thought about where the items could be he could not fail Tash, he saved his life which was more than Aslan had done for him.

* * *

William pulled the car up on the kerb across from the Police Station; this was the second time he had done this. He carefully watched as different officers in tunics went in and out of the station simply doing their day to day routine.

William tried to memorise everything about the building but he had to make sure that the rings were still there before he even attempted trying to sneak in. He thought about his experiences he had in stealing things which all came from him living on the streets when he was fifteen, before he went to Narnia and became High Protector.

However this time he couldn't help but think about how if he fails then it's the fate of the world instead of just his brother and sister which hangs in the balance, a thought which scared him entirely.

He continued to watch as the day slowly dragged on, he was exhausted but whenever he attempted to sleep he was harassed by terrible dreams involving a creature standing on a mountain of bones. He didn't know if these dreams meant anything but the creature kept calling his name over and over again and the thing that seemed to frighten William the most, is that lately he was slowly feeling Aslan's presence less and less.

* * *

Susan sat on her bed as she held the bow in her hands; she slowly slid her hand up and down feeling the strange connection she seemed to have to the weapon. She still had trouble believing it belonged to her; she swore she had never fired a bow in her life.

The trio were currently staying in a small hotel located just outside of Finchley, the rooms were quite small but at least it seemed safe enough for now anyway.

The door to her room opened and in walked Sophia, she smiled at Susan who smiled back before her eyes focused on the bow again. Sophia approached and sat down beside her, she watched as Susan gently held the bow in her hands and she understood how hard it was for Susan to feel a connection to something yet not remember having it.

"Are you okay"? Sophia asked

"I don't know, I feel lost" Susan answered honestly

"What do you mean"?

"Supposedly I have it in me to be a fearless archer who was a Queen of a country, that's just not me though"

Sophia sighed at that, she understood that it would take time for Susan to rediscover her true self. But as she sat there and listened to Susan express doubt in herself she couldn't help but wonder if Susan's true self would ever remerge.

"Susan I have lived among humans for many years now and I have seen what they are capable of, it is true that at times you can be a flawed race but there other times where humans show so much spirit and courage. Take Britain during the early years of the war, Germany had overrun Europe, France had surrendered and America had not yet joined; yet this tiny little island stood up and in one voice we said we will not lay down for Hitler and his Nazis we will stand and we will fight until there is none of us left standing. You see Susan that's what Humans are capable of and that is what you are capable of"

Susan smiled at that, it was true during the early years of the war Britain stood alone against the mighty Germany and yet we continued to fight. However she still didn't know if that kind of courage existed in her, it existed in her siblings and also in her parents but she was different from them she had always considered logic before action unlike her siblings.

A small tear appeared in her eye at the thought of her siblings, she thought about how they would happily charge into this adventure with excitement despite the level of danger the cult brought. Sophia put a comforting arm around her shoulder and Susan slowly lowered her head onto her shoulder and allowed Sophia to calmly stroke her hair, it reminded Susan of how her mother used to do it when she was upset and that seemed to bring even more memories of her family.

* * *

Kadius sat behind his desk once again reading many different documents and occasionally scribbling something down on a piece of parchment. He mumbled to himself and groaned every time he moved his still bandage arm.

"My Lord" Quigley's voice came from outside the door

"Come in Quigley" Kadius sighed

The little man entered the room and nervously approached the desk; however there was more than fear in the face of Quigley there seemed to be a great deal of excitement as well. This caused Kadius to become puzzled and curious as to what could make this nervous stuttering oaf so happy.

"Quigley what is wrong with you"? Kadius asked

"What do you mean my lord"? Quigley replied confused

"You look cheerful"

Quigley seemed like he couldn't help it, he smiled even more which cause Kadius to become even more puzzled and also a little annoyed at how he could be so happy after they failed to retrieve the painting and both of them ended up with wounds in their shoulders.

"We have found it my lord" Quigley squealed in delight

"You have"?

"Yes my lord"

"Where"?

"It's in an antique shop in Yorkshire"

Kadius smiled at that finally he was one step ahead of William and this time he swore to his master that he will not fail this time. He ordered Quigley to ready the men and for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime he laughed with pure happiness of success.

* * *

_William was standing in a lovely forest which seemed to glow with sunshine, he was so happy to be back in Narnia again that he wanted to scream in happiness. However soon the forest started to burn, he attempted to put on the fire but it didn't work it continued to spread until everything was burning around him. _

_He watched in horror as the world he loved was slowly destroyed, he turned around and stop dead. There standing before him was a Susan dressed in a lovely green Narnian dress, he couldn't believe she was standing before him in all her grace as queen. _

"_Susan" William said a small smile appearing on his face_

"_You should never have returned William, I was better off without you I was safe and secure. You've put me in danger now, your the reason the cult wants to kill me" she said her eyes cold._

"_No Susan this isn't you" William begged_

_However soon Susan was joined by Swanwhite, she wore a lovely white dress and she seemed to look like an angel. But like Susan her eyes which were once warm and full of love were now cold and lifeless. _

"_It's your fault I'm dead, you should got there in time" Swanwhite said_

"_No"!_

_Then George appeared dressed in his armour with his sword sheathed at his side, he looked powerful as he stood there. His eyes were also like the others showing no signs of life or warmness. _

"_It was because of you I turned to Jadis, you pushed me towards her" George said_

"_No"!_

_Then they were joined by his little sister Lizzie dressed in a lovely red coat and skirt, his parents dressed on the same clothes he saw them wearing when they boarded the Titanic. All three of them blamed him for their deaths, he screamed in disbelief as the forest continued to burn around him. _

"_You see High Protector, you have caused the suffering to many people" A high cold voice said_

_William turned to see a hideous creature standing before him, he had the head the vulture, four arms and stood to at least 7 feet tall. This horrific creature was none other than the demon Tash. _

"_You"! William shouted_

"_You see High Protector, you are remembered for being a heroic leader who fought so valiantly to defend Narnia but yet the stories forget the people you made suffer" Tash said an evil smile appearing on his Vulture beak. _

"_Lies, you're trying to get inside my head" William yelled in defence_

"_Believe what you want William, but soon you will come to me and then you will do what your old student failed to do; you will kill Susan the Gentle"_

"NO"! William shouted waking with a start

He looked around at his surroundings to see that he was still in the car parked on the kerb across from the police station. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair to feel it drenched with sweat.

"Just a nightmare" William whispered to himself

Yet on the way back to the hotel he couldn't help but be frightened, he prayed to Aslan but still he could not feel the great lion's comforting presence.


	26. Worries and Surprises

Chapter 26

Worries and Surprises

William turned the door to the room he had in the hotel and entered; he quickly took off his long black coat and tossed it onto the bed. His shirt followed as he made his way to where a bowl of water sat on the dresser in the corner, he scooped up some of the water in his cupped hands and splashed it over his face trying to wash way the effects of the nightmare.

He breathed heavily as the nightmare continued to plague his mind, for a while now he had his suspicions of what Tash was up too but now his worst fear had been confirmed.

"William" a voice said

William spun around to see Susan standing in the doorway, she seemed a bit startled at his reaction but her expression changed slightly when she caught sight of his body. It was William's turn to be confused as he stared at Susan's weird expression wondering what was going on.

"Susan are you alright"? He asked

"Yes sorry" she answered quickly coming out of her trance

William was still confused but chose to ignore it for now; he invited her in and resumed splashing water over his face.

Susan entered and closed the door behind her, she watched as William splashed water over his face a few times before he grabbed a towel from the side and started to dry himself. Susan had to turn away as she saw a couple of drops of water slowly move their way down his neck, over his pecks and continue down his abdomen.

Luckily William didn't notice her reaction and she tried her best to control her strange feelings that were causing her such confusion. William finished drying himself and then sat down on the bed, he gestured Susan to join him which she did but very cautiously as she remembered the kiss they had shared.

Susan gently took a seat on the bed next to him making sure there was a tiny bit of space between them. William seemed to be shaken up and that frightened Susan because if something could make William nervous then it was something not to be underestimated.

"William are you alright"? She asked

"Yes, why"?

"You seem startled"

William shook his head at that, but Susan had a feeling that he was lying to her. That made Susan think what was he hiding, when William wasn't honest with her it scared her as it meant that something terrible was happening and William was trying to protect her.

* * *

Kadius swung his black blade through the air hearing the ring of the blade as it rushed through the air. However he grunted in pain as his shoulder hurt every time he moved it, which meant that his skill with a sword had suffered slightly.

However despite his wounded shoulder Kadius continued to practice, he visualised William standing before him every time he swung the blade. He pictured killing William in many different ways however as Kadius knew pretty well by now, picturing the death of William wasn't satisfying and Kadius could not wait for the day when he could kill him for real.

"My Lord" Came Quigley's voice

"What"! Kadius demanded

"We are ready my lord, all the men are in the trucks ready to leave" explained Quigley

Kadius smiled at that, he then slowly lowered his sword and eventually sheathed it. He turned to the altar that had been constructed in the chamber and knelt before it, after a short prayer to Tash he returned to his feet and looked at Quigley.

"I want no failures this time Quigley" he growled

"There will be none my lord" Quigley replied

Kadius smiled at that and began to exit the chamber, Quigley followed after him and together they entered the long damp corridors which they had to navigate their way through in order to return to the church upstairs.

Kadius was happy for the first time in a while, he knew that William couldn't possibly know about the antique shop and couldn't help but be ecstatic of the fact that William could not get in his way.

* * *

The trio sat in the dining room of their hotel in silence, they all ate the meals that had been provided for them but no words seemed to come out. William knew that he had to find out if the rings were in the police station so he had decided that tomorrow Sophia would enter the station and try to discover if they had the right location.

Susan watched William as she ate her food; she had suspicion that he was hiding something from her. It bothered her a lot as she wanted to trust William, but she couldn't do that if he kept things from her; it might be for her own good but she was apart of this quest and deserved to know all of the information about it.

"So William, any major movement today"? Sophia asked breaking the silence.

"None, just officers going about their daily routine" William answered

Sophia nodded at that and resumed eating her food, Susan however continued to glance at William from time to time. She could tell he was hiding something and her curiosity was screaming at her to find out what it was.

William looked at her curiously; Susan quickly turned her attention back to her meal making William look confused at her actions. The trio continued to eat in silence once again causing the atmosphere to become awkward for some reason, Sophia could tell something was bothering the other two but for the time being chose to ignore it as she knew sooner or later whatever was going on between them will come to ahead.

* * *

Later that evening Susan was walking in the hotel's garden, it wasn't much but it was a place where Susan could think without interruption. She looked up at the small hotel and saw the window of the room William was occupying; she saw a shadow move past the curtains followed by a second.

Susan suspected that it was Sophia who was in the room with him, but for some reason her curiosity suddenly wondered what they were talking about. Susan then quickly re-entered the hotel and slowly proceeded up the stairs, she came to the landing where William's room was and she smiled as she saw the door was open a little bit.

She crept to the door and peaked through the gap into the room, there she saw William leaning against the dresser with his arms crossed. Sophia stood in front of him her hands were on her hips and she seemed to be angry about something.

"What is wrong with you"? Sophia demanded

"Nothing" William mumbled in reply

"Don't give me that, I've known you for years I know when something is bothering you"

William sighed at that and ran his hand through his hair, Susan crouched lower but continued to watch. There was no way her curiosity was going to let her go now.

"Today when I was watching the station, I fell asleep" William said

"Okay, is that it"? Sophia asked confused

"No, while I was asleep I had a nightmare"

Sophia nodded but still seemed a little confused at why something like a nightmare would frighten a hardened veteran like William. However she pushed him to continue, something had spooked him and she was determined to find out what.

"In the nightmare, I saw Tash" admitted William

That caused Sophia to gasp, that was why William seemed startled he had seen Tash. Sophia sat down on the bed and gestured for William to continue, they had to figure out what Tash was up to.

"He showed me everyone I have ever loved, they blamed me for their deaths" William whispered

Susan could feel the strain on his heart as he said it, it must have been terrible for him to hear his loved ones say that it was his fault they were dead, she would hate it if her siblings blamed her for their deaths. However she was more frightened of the fact that William had also had a nightmare involving Tash, just like she did.

"William it was Tash, he was trying to break you" Sophia said

"I know, but I feel that Tash is up to something else"

"What William"? Sophia asked desperately

William sighed again and looked into Sophia's eyes, she was his friend and he knew she would be there for him until the very end. Sophia looked at him, urging for him to tell her the information that had scared William the most.

"Tash is trying to possess me"

Sophia and Susan both gasped at the same time, both of them could not believe it. Susan was frightened if Tash could take over William then she and Sophia would be alone and they might never stop the cult from collecting the items.

"He's trying to possess you"? Sophia repeated

"Yes, if he is successful he will make me kill Susan" William admitted

That revelation stunned Susan more than anything else, she wanted nothing more in than to run away and leave this dangerous quest behind. However her legs would not moved she remained crouching outside the door watching William and Sophia.

"Why will he make you kill Susan"?

"Because he is worried Susan will regain her memory and you know what will happen if she does, he said he would return" William explained

Susan still remained crouched outside the door, what about her memory, who would return. Susan's mind was full of these questions, she felt so upset that William had not told her anything about this.

"Are you going to tell Susan"?

"No, I can't"

"Why not"?

"If I tell Susan, I don't know how she will take it, she might leave" William said voicing his worries

"So what are we going to do about it then"? Sophia asked quietly

"I think there is only one thing to do"

"Which is"?

"If I start to show any signs of possession, then you must kill me Sophia" William whispered gravely as he looked into her eyes.


	27. Waiting

Chapter 27

Waiting

Susan remained frozen outside the room; her brain was still processing what she had just heard. William was becoming possessed by Tash and once he had succeeded he wants Sophia to kill him.

"William, I will never be able to kill you" Sophia whispered scared

"You must Sophia, if I kill Susan then I will die myself" William replied

Sophia bowed her head; Susan understood how hard it must be to promise to kill someone you care about. However as Susan stood outside the room she couldn't help but wonder if William did become possessed would Sophia have the courage to kill him.

"William I would be murdering you" Sophia said quietly

"You would not be murdering anyone, you would only be helping a friend finally be at peace" William answered resting both of his hands on her shoulders.

Sophia gave a small smile at that, however Susan could still see the sadness on her face. William and Sophia continued to talk but Susan was hardly listening anymore, she was too busy thinking about everything she had heard. If Tash was successful in possessing William then Susan knew all hope was lost.

* * *

The Car drove out of London and headed north, Kadius sat in the back and stared out of the window where rain continued to pour from the sky. Quigley sat in the passenger seat at the front and watched him, after a while Kadius lost his patience with his staring.

"Quigley, if you carry on staring at me I will cut out your eyes"! He snarled

Quigley squeaked in fear and turned away quickly, Kadius rolled his eyes at that. He could not believe he was forced to have really pathetic humans serving him; it was there fault William was able to get the painting before him.

"My Lord" stammered Quigley

"What"? Kadius sighed

"Do you think the Phoenix knows about the antiques shop"? He asked

"No I don't think he does, which means for once we have the upper hand against him" Kadius answered an evil smirk appearing on his lips.

Quigley smiled at that and turned back looking out the front window, Kadius looked out of his window and smiled at thought of finally having a success against William. When he was in Narnia he was always in William's shadow, always the student never the master.

"Now times have changed" Kadius whispered to himself

* * *

The sun rose into the sky like a curtain being raised, the light shot into William's room and made him slowly open his eyes. Last night he had stayed up for as long as he could before finally drifting off, he was worried about having another nightmare now he knew that Tash was trying to possess him.

He silently prayed to Aslan, lately he was feeling Aslan's presence less and less but he still had hope that the Great Lion was watching him.

_Knock Knock _

"Come in" he said to the door

The door opened and Susan entered the room, he gave her a small smile but the one she returned seemed strained and forced. William was confused at that but he chose to ignore this for now and instead invited her to sit down on his bed.

"Is everything alright Susan"? He asked gently

"Yes, why do you ask"? She replied

"It seems like something's bothering you"

Susan stared into his emerald green eyes and wondered if she should tell him that she knows about the possession. However as she was about to speak something stopped her, she couldn't admit to him that she knew and instead mumbled that nothing was wrong.

William nodded at that and folded his arms, he could sense that something was on her mind however she didn't want to tell him and for now he would respect her decision. They remained silent for a few minutes until finally William couldn't take it anymore.

"We are going to go and see if the rings are in the station today, if they are then we can start planning how to get them" he said hurriedly changing the subject

Susan nodded at that, he noticed she seemed relieved at the change of subject however he couldn't help but think that this quest was taken its toll on all of them and that soon their small group would finally break.

"How are we going to check"? She asked

"Sophia is going go in and say that a member of her family had been killed in the train accident, then ask if they have the rings" William explained

"Do you think they'll just give them to her"? Susan asked

"No I don't think they will, it would be nice if they did but it seems very unlikely"

Susan gave a small laugh at that which caused William to smile, Wulfric always taught him that during times of evil and sorrow laughter could always keep the spirit up.

"No news about the wardrobe or the horn then"?

"No, we know that the horn is still somewhere in the British Museum but as for the wardrobe we don't know" William said sighing at the thought of the other items still needed to be collected.

"Do you think the Cult know about the others"? Asked Susan

"I'm not sure, I hope not but I cannot be certain" William answered gravely

Susan nodded slowly at that while there came another knock at the door, William told the person to come in and the door opened to reveal Sophia. She smiled at the pair of them who both smiled back.

"The car is ready" She said

"Time to go" William responded smiling and together all three of them exited the room and headed to the car parked outside the hotel.

* * *

The little antiques shop rested in a street in the city of York, nobody seemed to be going into it. Instead they just walked passed and ignored the aging antiques which cluttered its windows, the sun was slowly setting and across the street from the shop there was a car parked on the kerb.

Kadius stared at the shop and patiently waited for the sun to set and the shop to close, however time seemed to slow and Kadius found himself becoming more and more impatient as he sat in the car.

"How long until it closes"? He asked

"One more hour my lord" Quigley answered from the front seat

Kadius growled and slowly felt the hilt of his sword which rested on his lap, the black blade seemed to glow and there was silver writing on it; it read.

_Darkness is coming, which no light can penetrate_

"Tell the men we move in one hour" Kadius commanded

Quigley nodded and jumped out of the car and jogged off to carry his lord's command. Kadius turned his attention back to the shop and slowly started smiling he was one hour away from finally gaining something is master desired.

* * *

William and Susan were sat in the car across from the station, they watched as a few officers in black tunics walked in and out of the doors.

"I hope Sophia will be alright" Susan whispered

"Sophia knows how to handle herself, she'll be fine" William responded reassuringly

Susan smiled at him and then turned back to the station where inside somewhere Sophia was trying to find out if the rings were nearly in their grasp. She looked at William again and the conversation she overheard last night popped back into her head. At that moment Susan decided she needed to know more about him.

"William"

"Hmm"

"What was your childhood like"? She asked

William looked at her with a confused look, he had no idea why she was asking this but she seemed determined to hear it. He sighed as Susan continued to look at him; he knew she would not let this drop.

"Well I had a perfect childhood until the fifteenth of April Nineteen Twelve" he answered

"The day the Titanic sunk"?

"Yes my parents both died when it sunk, after that it seemed my whole life fell apart. We lost our home; my brother and I were put into the workhouse while my little sister Lizzie was put into the orphanage"

Susan regretted asking about his childhood now; she could tell this was a hard subject for him to talk about. However her curiosity was getting the better of her and she couldn't help but push him to continue the story.

"So you were separated from your sister"?

"Only for a little while, me and George broke out of the workhouse and managed to get Lizzie out of the orphanage. From then on we lived on the streets" he explained

"What happened to Lizzie"?

"She died" William answered bowing his head.

Susan put a hand on his shoulder; she regretted asking now her curiosity had seemed to disappear at seeing William's grief. However before she could say any words of comfort Sophia exited the station and ran over to the car where she jumped into the back.

"Well, are they there"? William asked

"No, they've been moved" Sophia replied gravely

"Did they say where"? Asked Susan

"Yes, but you're not going to like it"

"Tell us Sophia, we need to know" William said

"There in Scotland Yard"

All three of them looked at each over with grave looks on their faces; they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. This quest was just getting more difficult and it didn't seem that it was going to get any easier.

_Authors Note: Sorry I haven't updated for a long time, I have been so busy and I've finally just managed to finish. I promise to make more time to update from now on _


End file.
